Dancing Shadows and Hidden Hearts
by Liza Taylor
Summary: Can the past truly repeat itself? Can friendship and even love return after a long time apart? Questions are asked as Cinderheart is dragged into an underground world she cannot accept, at least not without him...Rated M for adult themes,rape torture,ect.
1. Chapter 1

**Well, welcome to my first ever M rated Warriors story. As this is my first M rated Warriors story with this much intensity, feedback will be nice. Not much in the M rated side is in chapter 1 but chapter 2….well once you get to the end it gets quite obvious. At least I think so.**

** As for the content...it's pretty much going to be every mature rated thing out there that's going to be in the story. Torture, violence, rape, lemons. You name it and it's probably going to be in here. Fans of A Scarred Face are definitely going to love the torture scenes (more details are given. Yay!)**

** It will feature some fantasy elements as well (but that won't appear until later on). Anyway, enjoy the prologue and chapter 1….**

Prologue

_ How did this happen? Cinderheart wasn't sure. Her fur was soaked through with blood and it dripped down onto the cold stone floor. Was it her own blood? Or was it the blood of others? How could she even be sure it was even blood. It could be water._

_Her blue eyes. It was a struggle to move them. _

_Was that her organs over there? Or was that a piece of rock in the shape of a liver? That was possible._

_The rock walls around her. Was her blood smeared on it? Was it anyone's blood? _

_No. It wasn't hers. Or was it? She wasn't sure. She wasn't sure of much anymore. Was she even alive? Would StarClan even accept her into their ranks? Was it even possible after this? Would they accept her tainted body? _

_She tried to lift up a paw but it was too much. She couldn't move anything. Feeling was going away. Everything was going away. What would happen next? _

_Would he be alright?_

_Cherrykit._

_Where was she?_

_She was here a moment ago. Or was she? The concept of time didn't exist anymore. Or did it?_

_Feeling fading._

_How much more must happen?_

_Feeling slipping away._

_What was left for her?_

_Feeling gone. _

_All that's left is nothing._

Chapter 1

Cinderheart opened her eyes. The sunlight of the morning streamed through the cracks in the bracken overhead. Around her, her clanmates were awakening as well. It was another day in ThunderClan.

The gray tabby got to her paws and slipped out of the den. Outside, it was a wonderful day. The sun shone overhead, the wind was gentle and wafted in scents of prey from the forest. Today was definitely going to be a good hunting day.

Around her the early morning camp bustle went on. Cats streamed in and out with fresh-kill that was added to the large pile. The air was loud with the sounds of talking cats. First thing first. She put on a happy face before walking over to Briarlight.

The dark brown she-cat looked up from the fresh-kill she was enjoying. Her useless back legs were splayed behind her. "Hey Cinderheart," purred Briarlight as Cinderheart settled down next to her.

"Hey," replied Cinderheart. "How are you today?" With a careful eye she watched the she-cat for any sign of discomfort. She had heard rumors around camp that Briarlight probably wouldn't make it through the next leaf-bare and that was being generous.

"I'm fine," replied Briarlight. She coughed and then looked up at Cinderheart. "Really, I'm fine."

"Sure," replied Cinderheart. She didn't believe it though. It was odd but she could sense that everyday Briarlight was slipping further and further away. She found it funny that sometimes she knew how to treat injured cats. That was working right now.

Cinderheart yelped as something sharp clamped down on her tail. She twisted around to see what it was, her claws out. "Cherrykit," she sighed in relief. If she had reacted a second earlier the kit probably would have suffered major injuries.

"I'm sorry Cinderheart!" cried Poppyfrost. She ran over and plucked Cherrykit off Cinderheart's tail.

"I'm a warrior Poppyfrost!" exclaimed the young kit. She swiped the air with her tiny claws. "I'll take care of all the enemies in my way!"

Poppyfrost put her kit down and glared at her. "Cherrykit! You shouldn't bother your aunt like that. She was probably having a serious conversation with Briarlight before you rudely interrupted."

Cherrykit's ears drooped and she seemed to get even smaller than she actually was. "It's fine Poppyfrost," said Cinderheart. She liked Cherrykit's enthusiasm. It would serve her well in apprenticeship. It would be bad if it was crushed apart now. "Cherrykit is just practicing to be a warrior." She lifted up her tail. "My tail's not even bleeding. It's fine."

Poppyfrost seemed unsure but she accepted the fact that Cinderheart was alright.

Cinderheart looked down on Cherrykit. "Hey. Tell you what? Why don't I take you out on a tour of the clan territory?"

Poppyfrost stared at her sister in surprise. It was one of Firestar's new ideas. Get the kits out of camp to show them what will be in store for them in a couple of moons. Also it would help stop kits from wanting to leave camp because they weren't allowed to. Of course the kits needed to be under constant supervision the whole time for it would be quite easy for a kit to fall into camp if they weren't careful.

Cherrykit's eyes became wide and she looked up hopefully at her mother. "Can I go Poppyfrost?" she begged. "I'll be on my best behavior. I'll do everything that Cinderheart tells me to do."

"Are you sure about this?" asked Poppyfrost. "She can be quite a pawful at times."

Cinderheart shook her head. "It's fine." She bid farewell to Briarlight before leaving camp with the young kit in tow. Once they were outside Cinderheart stepped to the side to let the young kit have full view of the territory.

"Wow!" exclaimed Cherrykit. "It's so big!"

"Of course," said Cinderheart. "we need a lot of territory so we may feed all of our clanmates. Now, do you want to go see the lake?"

Cherrykit began bouncing up and down in excitement. "Yes! Yes!"

Cinderheart purred in amusement. "Well then, shall we get going?"

Cinderheart and Cherrykit began the walk down to the lake. Every now and then Cherrykit would stop and ask Cinderheart what a certain plant was or what a sound was. Cherrykit even tried catching a mouse. Well, she may not have actually caught it but her form was pretty good.

"Don't worry," said Cinderheart. "You'll be able to catch many mice after you become an apprentice. You will be bigger and stronger by then."

"Okay," said Cherrykit. She glared at the bush were the mouse had escaped to. "I let you live today!"

After a couple more interruptions, the two finally reached the lake. "Wow!" cried Cherrykit. She ran down to the edge of the lake water and stared at it. "It's bigger than I thought it would be!"

"Don't run in," warned Cinderheart. "The lake gets deep suddnely."

"I won't!" promised Cherrykit before she began exploring the lake bank.

Cinderheart was about to join the kit when she heard someone calling her name behind her. She turned and her eyes lit up when she spotted the golden brown tabby tom. "Lionblaze!"

"How are you today?" he asked as he walked over to her. "Kitsitting I see."

"Cherrykit was driving Poppyfrost crazy so I thought I would take care of her for a bit to give her a break," replied Cinderheart. She had recently realized that she had feelings for the tom. It was weird to be around him now. She didn't know how he felt about her. Did he like her the same way she felt about him?

"Oh," said Lionblaze. The two cats fell into a comfortable silence. They watched Cherrykit splash in the shallow water, the droplets catching the air beautifully. It was kind of romantic in an odd way. "Cinderheart?"

Cinderheart jumped. "Y..yes?" she asked nervously.

"Do you…um…do you…"

Oh StarClan, was he going to ask her that question. This was probably the most nerve-racking thing that has ever happened to her! How would he ask her? Would it be short and quick? Or would it be a long drawn out speech of some sort?

"Lionblaze!"

Lionblaze flinched and moved away from Cinderheart as Dovepaw ran over. What rotten timing Dovepaw had. "I need to talk to you," she said to her mentor. She glanced at Cinderheart for a moment before focusing on her mentor again. "It's important."

Lionblaze sent Cinderheart an apologetic look. She flicked her tail to show it was alright. "I need to keep an eye on Cherrykit," she said to try to keep any scrap of dignity left. She would not be the kind of she-cat that needed a tom around.

"Alright. We'll talk later," promised Lionblaze before mentor and apprentice disappeared into the undergrowth.

Cinderheart knew she shouldn't feel down about this. They would talk later. She joined Cherrykit in the shallow water. They may not have been RiverClan cats but still, trying to catch the small fish in the lake was fun. Cinderheart lost track of time as they played. This kit-like innocence of play reminded her of her own time as a kit.

Cinderheart froze and turned to the trees of ThunderClan. Her eyes scanned them quickly but she could see nothing out of the ordinary.

"What is it?" asked Cherrykit as she sensed Cinderheart's mood.

"I feel like somecat's watching us," replied Cinderheart. Realizing how creepy that sounded she added, "But I think it might have just been my imagination. A clancat would have just come up to us and asked to join us."

Cherrykit didn't look convinced. Now she was looking at the shadows of the trees for whatever spooked Cinderheart. Now Cinderheart really felt bad. Cherrykit would probably have nightmares tonight. "I'll go check to make sure nothing is there," said Cinderheart before making her way over to the trees. It was odd but the feeling of being watched was gone now. It was very weird. Cinderheart wasn't usually this jumpy. After a quick look and realizing there was nothing there she decided it would be best to return to Cherrykit now.

A yowl ripped through the air.

A yowl filled with fear.

Cherrykit.

Cinderheart's blood turned cold and she ran like foxes were on her tail. As soon as she broke the trees surrounding the lake she spotted Cherrykit in the lake. The kit's little paws were trying to keep herself afloat but it seemed like something was trying to force her underwater.

"Cherrykit!" yowled Cinderheart. "I'm coming!" Cinderheart ran towards the lake but before her paws could even touch the water, she felt something smash against her side. Air was knocked out of her lungs as she fell from the blow. Her head hit the rocks by the lake and blackness consumed her but she could still hear Cherrykit's yowls in the darkness.

Cinderheart's eyes opened and she lifted her head slowly. She felt like there was someone pounding the inside of her skull. What happened? She was by the trees and then she heard Cherrykit scream...Cherrykit! Where was she? Where was Cherrykit?

The gray she-cat ignored the pain in her limbs as she struggled to her paws. From her surroundings she could gather she was in some kind of cave. She pushed her bruised body to the cave entrance and stepped outside. Once she did, she wished she could run back inside.

The moon was bright and everything before her shone with clarity. Cats mounted on other cats, moans singing high into the air. The scents danced around Cinderheart like some kind of sick song. Echoes of "more more" and "deeper!" coursed around her.

What was this! Why were cats? Why were cats doing something so sacred in front of her? Why were they doing it in front of others? Didn't they feel any shame for what they were doing?

Hearing something to her left, she saw a young brown she-cat surrounded by three toms. All seemed to be having their way with her at the same time. They were all satisfying their own pleasure. And unlike Cinderheart who felt disgusted by looking at it, she was screaming in ecstasy.

This was maddening! Cinderheart's eyes looked around wildly for a way out. She had to escape from here. This was crazy. These cats were crazy. The area that these cats were doing it in was surrounded on all sides by huge stone walls. The stone walls seemed too high and too smooth for Cinderheart to be able to climb it.

The cave.

The cave must be the way out of this Dark Forest!

The gray she-cat turned back to the cave but a ragged white tom blocked her path. His golden eyes glinted with lust. "Now where do you think you're going?" he hissed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow. This ended up getting more reviews than I thought it was going to get. Chapter was changed slightly from my original intention but I think this is better and it helps out the plot a lot more. Okay enjoy! **

Cinderheart's heart pounded in her chest while her eyes conveyed the fear of what was going to happen. It didn't take much imagination to figure it out. She shook her head quickly. "N…No. I have to go somewhere."

The ragged tom just looked at her like she had not spoken. "Now, now," he said slowly as he took a threatening step towards her while she took a step back. "Oh come on," he pleaded, "Don't be like that."

She shook her head. "No." Wait. She was a warrior. She could fight back. Claws unsheathed she threatened, "Don't come any closer or I will claw one of your ears off."

That seemed to have the opposite effect on the tom. He seemed to get more excited by this. "Oh? So you're that kind of she-cat."

The yowls of pleasure around her were throwing her concentration off a bit but Cinderheart knew she shouldn't be distracted. But…it was so hard. She had never heard anything like this before. And the moon was painfully bright and lit up everything, even the things she wished she didn't see.

The tom seemed tired of waiting for her and he charged forward and knocked Cinderheart off her paws. Her head smacked into the ground painfully and she was momentarily in shock. The tom took this single moment of no resistance as compliance.

When Cinderheart recovered from the shock she realized that the tom was sitting on top of her, his body splayed out in a way that her legs were pinned to the ground. His tongue ran over the fur on her chest slow and steady and he was slowly making his way downwards.

"No!" screamed Cinderheart but her voice was lost in the sounds of pleasure from the others. She could feel tears welling up within her eyes. She shut her eyes tightly and thought of Lionblaze. He was the one she cared about. She wanted her first to be him, not this lustful tom. Would Lionblaze even accept her after this? Would he accept a tainted mate?

The ragged tom was getting closer and closer and Cinderheart knew there was nothing she could do about it. _"I'm sorry Lionblaze,"_ she thought to herself. _"I'm sorry."_

"Wait."

Cinderheart felt the weight on her body disappear and she opened her eyes in confusion. The ragged tom stood next to her, his head dipped in a respectable bow. Her blue eyes turned to what the tom was bowing at.

It was a tom. For some reason Cinderheart felt her heart pound a bit harder. He was handsome, his jet black fur seemed to shine in the moonlight. Dark blue eyes stared at her. He radiated danger.

"You may go now," he said, his voice was level but it held authority. "This one, I'll take care of."

"Of course Shadow sir," said the ragged tom quickly. He shot Cinderheart a lustful look before disappearing into the crowds of cats.

The black tom's blue eyes now focused on Cinderheart. "Come with me." He turned to leave but when he noticed that Cinderheart still hadn't moved he said, "You want to stay here? Another tom will approach you and that one may be a bit more forceful than the last one."

Not really knowing what else to do, Cinderheart scrambled to her paws and followed the tom into the cave. Surprisingly, the cave had a tunnel system in the back and he took her through that. The walls had glowing moss and that lit up the way so Cinderheart had no fear of losing this tom for he could probably disappear into shadows with that dark fur of his that seemed to be a bit longer than a short-haired cat but not long enough to be considered long-haired.

She shook her head. She had to pay attention to her surroundings not this tom's fur! She had to figure out how to escape from here. Sure this tom saved her but it didn't mean he wouldn't do anything.

Now focused on her goal, the she-cat began to look closely at the tunnels they were walking in. The scents of cats were everywhere and it made Cinderheart guess that this was a living area, kind of like the bramble dens that ThunderClan cats lived in. She also noticed that there was no one around except for her and this tom. She had a feeling that everyone was probably outside doing_ that._

"This one," spoke the tom. He had stopped before one of the branching tunnels and he gestured for Cinderheart to go first. "Nothing's going to happen," he said in the same calm level tone when he saw her staring at it with distrust.

Cinderheart gulped. It was probably a good idea to listen to this tom. By the way the other one deferred to him, he was probably a high ranked cat here. She stepped into the side tunnel and saw it was actually a small cavern. A hole was cut into the rock wall and moonlight was pouring into the room. A moss bed was at one end and a pile of bones took up a small space. The scent of the tom was everywhere and Cinderheart guessed this was his chamber. Bile rose in her throat. She was right. He had brought her here to have his way with her.

She felt his presence behind her and she stiffened. Did she have a chance of beating him in a fight and escaping? He was much bigger than her. Those paws of his looked like they could knock her out before she could even land one hit. She shut her eyes tight. Maybe he would do it quickly and get it over with.

Nothing happened.

When she opened her eyes, he was sitting on his moss bed, his tongue running over his fur as he groomed himself. "Are you just going to stand there?" he asked, his piercing blue eyes watching her. "Unfortunately I probably won't be able to get you a moss bed in here until tomorrow but the floor should be fine unless you want to share."

"Why are you doing this?" asked Cinderheart. "Just hurry up and get it over it!"

The tom looked genuinely confused. "Do what?" He seemed to understand a moment later and he chuckled. "Oh. That. Do you want to?"

Cinderheart couldn't believe this guy. "Of course not," she cried. "But…"

"Then there's nothing to say," he said. "Just get some sleep. I won't touch you."

She didn't understand what was going on at all. Why was he letting her go? Why was he being nice to her? Deciding not to stand in the middle of the room like a mouse-brained she walked to the farthest corner of the room from the tom and sat on the cold hard floor. Her eyes watched as the tom continued his grooming. What was his deal? Why would he help her?

The tom stopped grooming and Cinderheart stiffened. She knew it. She knew this was going to happen! But he didn't move towards her. In fact he didn't even get up. His attention was on the entrance to the room.

"Oh Shadow, this night was a good one!" A she-cat walked in. Her black and white fur radiated the smell of the outside and it didn't take much for Cinderheart to tell what this she-cat had been doing. The she-cat's eyes fell on Cinderheart at the other end of the room and she laughed. "Shadow, Shadow, Shadow. What are we going to do with you? What a naughty cat you are!"

The tom, Shadow, just shook his head. "Enough Dusk."

The she-cat looked at Shadow in amusement. "I get it. You want me to leave so you can have the time of your life with her. I get it! I get it! I won't disturb you anymore!"

Shadow rolled his eyes and Cinderheart got the impression that this battering between them was quite normal. "I want Dawn to take care of her. Get her a moss bed and such. Show her around. And only Dawn," he added as he eyed her.

Dusk gasped with extreme exaggeration. "You want my sister to take care of her instead of me?" She placed a paw over her heart. "Shadow, I am heartbroken. Honestly, you will be the death of me."

"Just get Dawn to do it. I don't want you doing anything to her," said Shadow. He placed his head down on his paws.

Dusk stared at Shadow for a few moments before she walked over to Cinderheart. She stiffened as the she-cat approached. Dusk looked down at Cinderheart in amusement. "So, you must have had quite a scare out there," she said. "I hear from where you come from, you don't have the love nights."

"Love nights?" asked Cinderheart despite herself.

"Oh yes," said Dusk. She leaned forward and Cinderheart could smell many toms on her fur. "Love nights. Nights that we are allowed to have as much fun as we want. Of course if you don't want to, it's best to just stay inside. Cats get quite horney and sometimes cannot control their urges." She pulled herself back. "Just a warning for the future. Shadow won't always be around to make sure you stay pure."

"But why is he helping me?" asked Cinderheart. This she-cat disgusted her. How can she stand to have many toms have their way with her and love it? But still. Maybe she could answer some of Cinderheart's questions.

Dusk chuckled. "That is something I cannot say. Anyway. I must be going. The night is young and there are many toms I haven't gotten to yet." She seemed to sense Cinderheart's disgust even though she was already facing away from her. "You should understand something. This is normal in our lives." Dusk left and now Cinderheart was alone with Shadow.

She turned to him but his chest was slowly rising and falling. A sure sign of sleep. She had the urge to run away but where would she go? The tunnels were already confusing on the way here, how could she get out? And she didn't want to risk going outside and seeing those cats again. She shifted position on the hard stone floor and curled her body in a tight ball. Oh StarClan, she was almost raped tonight. If Shadow hadn't come then…she shivered. Thinking about it wouldn't help. Almost against her will she felt her eyelids close as she slipped off into sleep.

Linelinelineline

Where was she? Cherrykit couldn't see anything. She was in pitch black darkness. She blinked and rubbed her eyes over and over but nothing could be seen. An alarming through ran through her mind. Maybe she was blind like Jayfeather! That could be cool. Then she could become a medicine cat too! But then she wouldn't be able to see anymore. That would be sad.

Cherrykit didn't remember what happened after she was dragged into the lake. She did remember seeing Cinderheart get knocked to the ground by a gray scarred tabby tom but a huge black tom had come out of nowhere and attacked the tabby. She didn't really understand the significance of that at all. It was too confusing for her kit-brain.

"Hello?" she called out. "Am I blind?"

A sound came from her left and Cherrykit turned towards it. She saw a beacon of moonlight and some shadows before the darkness engulfed everything again. The scents of multiple cats entered Cherrykit's nose.

"Hello," said one. Cherrykit thought it sounded like a she-cat and her voice was sickly sweet.

"Hello," called back Cherrykit. "Where am I? What's going on?"

"Don't worry," purred the she-cat. "You will be told everything once you answer a few of my questions. First, where's the Resurrected?"

"Re-Re-Re what?" asked Cherrykit. What was that? What did it even mean? "I don't know what that is," said Cherrykit. "Poppyfrost said I should always ask when I don't know what a word means, what does it mean?"

The she-cat let off a short hiss. "Don't play games with me. Where's the Resurrected?"

"I don't know!" cried Cherrykit. "What's a resur-something?" She had a bad feeling, like when she accidently squished Molekit's favorite moss ball toy and hid it. She had a bad feeling when Molekit told Poppyfrost about it.

"I'll ask you one more time," hissed the she-cat. "The Resurrected. Where is it?"

"I don't know!" screamed Cherrykit. She was scared now. Her nose and ears told her some of the cats that had come with the she-cat were moving. Moving around her.

The she-cat made a sound of disgust. "Fine. Be that way. Alright then. Maybe you will be more cooperative after some persuasion."

Cherrykit was very confused now. What did she mean by that? She yelped as she felt something warm against her back. Suddenly she felt stifled as bodies seemed to press in from all around her. Cherrykit was frightened out of her mind now. What was going on? She wished she could see but it was too dark in this little space.

The she-cat screamed as she was pushed to the ground by many paws. Tongues from many cats licked her over and over in many different areas. She screamed again but it was quickly silenced as something was shoved into her small mouth. She didn't know what it was but it was moving up and down in her mouth.

A sharp pain came from the area under her tail as something was shoved into one of the holes. It tore her apart inside as whatever it was pushed in and out. What was going on!

It hurt.

Oh StarClan, it hurt so bad.

Tears streamed down Cherrykit's face from the pain. What was going on? She didn't understand. What were those things in her mouth and body that moved?

Yowls rang up around her but they weren't yowls of pain. What kind of yowls were these? She didn't understand.

Something was now rubbing against her body. What was it? It was hard, like the things in her mouth and body. What was going on? Cherrykit wished she could see. She wished the pain would stop. Her pleas weren't heard. It wouldn't stop.

Her insides felt like it was being torn apart by whatever was in her. Her screams were silenced by whatever was in her mouth though. She heard a tom yowl and felt something squirt into her mouth. Something salty and sticky that she was forced to swallow or choke. The thing in her mouth was removed and she was ready to scream at them to stop but another was shoved into it in the place of the last one.

Would this ever end? It hurt so much. She thought she could smell blood in the air. Her own blood. She felt the tom inside her shudder and felt something come out of the thing inside of her. The thing was removed but like the one in her mouth it was replaced by another.

She wanted it all to stop. She wanted all this pain to stop. _"Anyone…Make it stop!"_


	3. Chapter 3

**Here is chapter 3 for all to enjoy.**

Cinderheart cracked open her eyes. For a couple of seconds she was very confused. Where was she? Then it all came back to her. That night, the yowls of joy. She scrambled to her paws. She had to get out of here. She heard something move to her right and she turned her head to the sound. Reacting out of pure instinct, she launched herself in the air and landed on the cat. It was only then that she registered who it was. "Dusk," she hissed angrily. "Tell me how to get out of here or I will have to hurt you."

Dusk looked up at Cinderheart in surprise. "I'm sorry," she said. "I think you have me mistaken for my sister. I'm Dawn."

"Huh?" Cinderheart stared down at the she-cat in confusion.

"Can you please get off me?" asked Dawn. "I need to finish preparing your moss bed." Not really understanding what was going on, Cinderheart did as the she-cat asked. "Thank you," purred Dawn. She got to her paws and began to fluff up a moss bed.

Cinderheart on the other paw was examining Dawn closely. Like her sister she had an equal distribution of black and white on her fur. Her golden eyes were identical. In fact everything about them was the same, even their scent.

"What is it?" asked Dawn, looking up from the moss bed. "Is there something on my face?"

"No," replied Cinderheart. "I was just wondering why you look exactly like your sister."

"That's because we're sisters," said Dawn cheerfully. "Anyway, Shadow asked me to show you around so follow me." Dawn seemed to have a spring in her step as she walked. It was like the completely opposite of her sister's menacing steps. She paused by the entrance and looked back. "You coming? Oh, and Shadow told me to tell you that trying to threaten anycat here would not be in your best interest." Cinderheart shivered. There was something in Dawn's gentle eyes at that point. Something sinister. "Aren't you coming?" she asked, tilting her head to the side a bit.

"Uh, right," said Cinderheart. She hurried after Dawn and they were now in the tunnels. Even though Dawn seemed to be skipping as she walked, she still seemed to be walking extremely fast for Cinderheart who almost had to run to keep up with her. They took many twists and turns and Cinderheart tried to keep them all in line in her head in a mental map but it was useless. They were moving too fast.

She didn't register it at first but the light was getting stronger in the tunnel. It was coming from ahead, an opening in the cave. Freedom! Cinderheart took the moment. She yowled and ran towards it. Dawn didn't try to stop her. She burst out of the cave and skidded to a stop. Her eyes weren't registering what was going on.

"Looks like I guessed right," said Dawn cheerfully as she walked out. She placed her black and white tail on Cinderheart's shoulder. "You alright?"

Cinderheart shook her head. "How can this even be possible?" The tunnel had lead to a small cleft on the side of a mountain. This gave Cinderheart a clear view of everything around her for miles. She could see forest surrounding the base of the mountain for a distance and then it was nothing. No plants, nothing.

"That's the Lost Desert," said Dawn. "Cats or anything for that matter that go out there usually die." Her tone suggested that she was talking about the weather or something pleasant. Not about death.

"Desert," repeated Cinderheart. The word was unfamiliar to her. It looked like the drought that the clans had a couple moons ago only worse.

"We are currently standing outside Welgaria," said Dawn in the same cheerful tone. "That's the name of the mountain. The council gave it to Shadow to take care of."

"Council?" repeated Cinderheart. "What are you talking about?" Where was she? "Where's ThunderClan?"

Dawn blinked slowly and cocked her head to the side. "What are you talking about? What's ThunderClan? Is it a new territory? Oh!" Her eyes lit up. "That's where you are from right? Well, let's see. You're from up there." Dawn pointed her tail to the blue sky above.

"Don't mess around with me!" snarled Cinderheart. She was tired and the day has only just begun. Somehow she had ended up in a weird place and now this cat was telling her that ThunderClan was in the sky. "You're crazy! Now let me go home!"

Dawn didn't even flinch from Cinderheart's accusation. "I'm sorry but Shadow will not allow me to do that," she replied cheerfully.

Cinderheart was getting tired of Dawn's cheerful responses. "Can you take anything seriously!" she snarled.

Dawn blinked but that didn't seem to affect her. "But everything should be taken with happiness," she said, "Otherwise it will sad and serious."

It was then that Cinderheart realized that this she-cat was the kind to never be happy. She was the kind who would always be happy for others even if she was upset inside. That took courage in its own right. The gray she-cat relaxed slightly. "Okay. So I'll bite. I'm from the sky. How did I get here without dying?"

"Shadow brought you," replied Dawn. She examined Cinderheart. "I wonder why though. The council was trying to find the Resurrected. I wonder why he brought you here…" Cinderheart felt really uncomfortable at the moment by Dawn's stare. She began to fidget until Dawn looked away. "Well," she said cheerfully. "That doesn't matter. Let's go get you some food! Follow me. You must be hungry."

Not really knowing what else to do, Cinderheart followed Dawn. As they were walking in the tunnels, Cinderheart was suddenly hit by a thought. "Hang on," she said. "Was there a ginger she-cat? A very young cat, a kit as well?"

"No," replied Dawn quickly as they continued to walk through the tunnels. For the first time today Cinderheart saw other cats in the tunnels as well. The tunnels were wide enough so she didn't have to touch any of them so that was good. They reminded her of last night. "You were the only one he brought. I wouldn't worry too much about her. The council probably has her. You should ask Shadow about it."

"It sounds like you have a lot of faith in him."

"I do," Dawn glanced back at Cinderheart. "He saved me and my sister's life." There was such happiness in her voice at that moment that Cinderheart knew it was the truth. Whatever happened in Dawn and Dusk's life before, he saved them. "Anyway. Here we are. Back to Shadow's place." Dawn went in first with Cinderheart right behind her.

"Hey, there's fresh-kill here," said Cinderheart in surprise.

"Of course," replied Dawn. She gestured for Cinderheart to take the mouse. "That one is for you. The rabbit is for Shadow. Since you are his guest you get to eat in privacy. Plus, Shadow doesn't want you wandering around without supervision."

"Why?" asked Cinderheart before she began to eat.

Dawn sighed. "Do I really need to answer that? You are an outsider. Some cats will not be able to control themselves around you and not even Shadow can protect you from them. If you're with me then they'll leave you alone."

Cinderheart wondered why. Dawn looked like she couldn't hurt a fly. She didn't look like the type who could kill anyone. Then again, she did look and smell exactly like her sister so maybe that was why.  
A sound echoed from the tunnel and Shadow stepped inside. Unfamiliar scents radiated off his fur. Scents from plants and StarClan knew what else.

"Back from the council visit?" asked Dawn as she picked up the rabbit and put it by Shadow's freshly changed moss bed.

"That was tiring," Shadow collapsed on the bed and began devouring the rabbit. He was eating like he hadn't seen fresh-kill in so long. He looked up with those piercing blue eyes. "May I speak to Dusk?"

"She's sleeping now," replied Dawn. "Should I wake her?"

Shadow glanced over at Cinderheart and shook his head. "No. Tell her to come see when she wakes up."

"Yes Shadow," Dawn dipped her head to the tom before turning to Cinderheart. "See you later," she purred before walking out of the cave.

"So how was your little walk to the outside?"

Cinderheart jumped. It was so awkward to be in the same room with this tom. "Dawn said you got me out of the sky. How is that even possible? And she said that Cherrykit, a ginger she-cat, is probably with the council and she said to ask you to check it out." It was awkward to talk to him. She didn't know why.

Something flashed across Shadow's face. "Oh yes," he said. "I remember. Yes. Cherrykit is doing fine at the council."

Cinderheart's eyes brightened. "Great! Is there someway I can see her?"

Shadow shook his head. "No. It would be for the best that you don't."

"Why not?" cried Cinderheart. "She's my clanmate. She is only a kit. I promised her mother, my sister that I would take care of her. Let me see her!" Shadow continued to eat the rabbit. He was ignoring her now. Cinderheart's fur bristled. "Hey!" she snarled. "Listen to me when I'm talking to you! Where's Cherrykit? Let me go see her!"

No answer.

She couldn't take this anymore. She turned tail and stormed out of the cave and into the tunnels. She wasn't sure where she was going to go but Dawn's warning for her stayed in the back of her brain where it would not bother her. She picked a random direction and began walking. Shadow was so infuriating! Well if he wasn't going to let her see Cherrykit then she would figure out how to get out of here and go visit Cherrykit herself. There had to be some way. And she would find it.

At every fork Cinderheart came across she took a right so she would at least have some idea of how to get back. The rights actually ended up taking her to the huge gorge from last night. Today many cats were milling around but they seemed to be doing it with some purpose. Her eyes widen as she noticed cats climbing up and down the sheer rock wall. How was that possible? It didn't look like there were any pawholds.

"What are you doing out here!" From the tone of the black and white she-cat, it was probably Dusk. Her golden eyes were blazing in anger and Cinderheart again thought of how similar the sisters were. Everything about them was the same except for their attitude. Dusk glanced around. "Come on. Let's get you back inside."

"What are you talking about? I'm going to go find Cherrykit." Cinderheart backed away from Dusk.

Dusk's eyes flashed with anger. "You don't understand anything and don't you dare pretend like you do. Now get inside before I do something that will make you regret crossing me."

Cinderheart didn't back down. She had already done that last night. "No. Not until you explain why I cannot see Cherrykit!"

Dusk looked around but no one seemed to be noticing their conversation. Her golden eyes narrowed and she focused on Cinderheart again. "You don't want to make me angry," she hissed.

Cinderheart unsheathed her claws. She wasn't sure what would happen if she attacked Dusk but she had to do something! Maybe if she stopped Dusk and made a break for it, she would be able to get away before anycat could stop her. A longshot but what else could she do? Plus she didn't mind hurting Dusk. She was a jerk unlike her sister.

Dusk chuckled. "Are you serious?" She shifted to a crouch with claws out. "Fine."

Cinderheart tensed her muscles. All she had to do was get a well placed blow that would knock Dusk out and it would fine. She would escape. She was about to attack when she felt a sharp pain in her side as claws raked her fur.

She yowled in shock and turned to it and saw it was Dusk. How could she move that fast? That was the last thought before she felt something hard smash into the back of her head.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the wait! Here is chapter 4! **

Cinderheart groaned and cracked open her eyes. The back of her head was throbbed and she had to move slowly or risk getting sick. Where was she? From a quick look around, she was in a small cave. A small opening in the rock wall let in weak sunlight which made Cinderheart guess it was close to nightfall. There was no way in or out of the cave as far as Cinderheart could tell.

She silently cursed herself for being so mouse-brained. That idea she had would never have worked. She was just desperate and because of that she paid the price for stupidity. She was probably in a holding cell of some sort. At least before she had some freedom. Now it looked like she had none at all.

A grating noise came from behind her and she whirled around to see a section of the rock wall move aside. Shadow walked in with one of the twin cats behind him. Dusk by the way she leered at Cinderheart. Shadow's piercing blue eyes seemed to be disappointed in her.

"Well that the stupidest thing you could do," sneered Dusk. She lifted her head proudly. "Trying to attack me of all cats." She shook her head. "You stupid, stupid she-cat."

Shadow lifted his tail and Dusk fell silent. "You did something very foolish out there," he said. "Very foolish."

Cinderheart didn't back down. She just stood tall and proud like a true ThunderClan warrior. "I am not going to sit around here without answers," she replied. "I want to know about Cherrykit and where I am. And I want to go home!"

Shadow didn't say anything about her questions. Instead he said, "You will be living here for a little while." He turned and left, leaving Cinderheart alone with Dusk.

Dusk slowly shook her head back and forth. "Tsk tsk. What a silly she-cat you are." Her golden eyes glinted with malice. "You had something special going on there and then you had to ruin it by attacking me."

"You deserved it," sneered Cinderheart. "Unlike your sister, you are not the kind of cat I would like to hang out with." She may be putting a brave front on the outside but inside she was scared for her life. There was something off about this she-cat. She had speed that should be impossible for a cat.

Dusk's eyes shone with amusement and she threw her head back and laughed. "Oh my. Looks like someone is very confused."

Cinderheart's fur bristled in anger. "What are you laughing about?"

Dusk stopped laughing and lowered her head to look directly at Cinderheart. "You," she replied smugly. "I'm laughing at the she-cat who doesn't know what she is saying." She flicked her tail and turned to leave. "Just sit here for a while and maybe you'll get some common sense." As soon as she stepped beyond the rock wall, it closed and left Cinderheart alone.

The gray she-cat was furious. How dare they treat her like this! She didn't deserve this! She wanted, all she wanted to do was go home. Was Lionblaze worried about her? Sorreltail. Oh StarClan. Her mother had lost almost all of her family. How would she deal with the loss of one of her kits? When Molekit died, Sorreltail had gone into a depressive state for a while. _"I have to get out of here,"_ she thought.

Not liking to just sit around, Cinderheart began to examine the rock wall that had slid open. She couldn't find anything though. The wall was smooth and there wasn't even a crack. Whatever was going on here, it wasn't normal. Was some kind of power involved?

Nonsense.

There was no such thing as magic. Well, StarClan did have that power but that was it. Only StarClan. She left that wall and began to examine the others.

Cherrykit

The darkness was pressing in on her. She didn't know what day it was or what time it was. All that was around her was darkness. No one was in her little dark cave with her. They had left a long time ago. Or was it a few moments ago?

She felt like she would never see again. She was forgetting how the sun looked or how the trees moved in a breeze. Her whole life was this darkness.

She blinked.

She blinked again.

What was that? Something was coming towards her. A small ball of light.

"What?" whispered Cherrykit, her voice hoarse. "What is…what is that?"

The light floated closer and closer until it was hovering over Cherrykit's beaten body. It was strange and comforting at the same time. She wanted to reach out and touch it and she wanted to run away from it. However she couldn't go anywhere. She lifted up one of her weak paws and pressed it against the light. That was all she could do.

Cinderheart

Cinderheart collapsed in the center of her prision. After examining all four walls, she knew there was no way out. The walls didn't have a single crack on them and the small opening in the rock was too high for Cinderheart to reach.

"I can't believe this," she whispered to herself. She placed her head on her paws. How long would they keep her here? As long as they pleased by the looks of it. Well, there was nothing she could do now. Maybe if Dawn comes by, she could overpower the she-cat and escape.

That idea was immediately thrown. If her sister could move that fast, who's to say Dawn couldn't. So she did the only thing she could do. Sleep.

_ The ground was a blur under her paws. She had to hurry. She had to escape. She could hear them crashing through the undergrowth behind her. Her heart was pounding furiously in her chest. She didn't want to look back to check their progress. She didn't want to see their fangs._

_ The sound of wings beating against the wind spurned her on. She heard the sound of one of her pursuers scream in pain behind her and she silently rejoiced in that sound. However she could not stop. Even with one of them down there were many more still after her._

_ The trees shifted past her with blinding speed and the prickly bushes caught her fur but that would not stop her either. She had to get away. She had to keep going._

_ Screams rang up into the air and it chilled her but it would not stop. The sound of battle would not stop until she got away. She wished it didn't have to be like this. She wished there was some other way. _

_ Light came from ahead, light that symbolized the end of her journey. This spurned her on and she ran with all her might until she broke the tree cover. It was then when something smashed on top of her. _

_ Her breath was knocked out of her lungs as she tumbled to the ground. The weight pressed against her body and she felt long claws drag over her back, right over her spine. _"No!"_ she thought as she looked at the huge lake before her. She was almost there. She had almost made it. She was so close. She reached out with a paw. She was almost there. She had to get there._

_ It was then when she felt those evil claws rip through her body. They tore through her skin and she could feel those claws rip through her organs. She twisted her head back to try to see who her murderer was and the sight of who it was turned her blood cold. She could feel her life drain out of her but those eyes, those eyes that she loved so much. "Why?" she choked with her last breath. "You promised. You promised to never betray me."_

Cinderheart woke with a start. She looked around wildly like she thought that creature was in the room at that moment. She checked her back but there were no wounds. It was a dream. The most realistic dream she had ever had. She shivered. She had felt pain. She had felt the pain of those claws. She couldn't remember how the thing over her looked like though. Only those claws. Those sharp claws.

"What kind of dream was that?" she whispered. She didn't get any time to think about it though for the wall opened up and one of the twin cats walked in.

"Good morning," she purred-Dawn then-. "Did you sleep well?" The she-cat dropped a plump mouse on the ground. "I'm sorry that you were forced to stay here."

"Don't worry about it," said Cinderheart quickly. She got to her paws and shook off the remaining chilling thoughts of that dream. "It's not your fault."

Dawn sat on her haunches and watched as Cinderheart ate the mouse. "I'm sorry but you are not allowed out of here for now," she said. "Shadow doesn't want you wandering around the place. At least not at the moment. After the council member is gone, you'll be let out."

Cinderheart froze. "Council member?" Her thoughts ran to Cherrykit. Wasn't Cherrykit with this council. "Cherrykit. I want to see Cherrykit!" She took a step towards Dawn. "Take me to this council member. I have to ask about Cherrykit!"

Dawn shook her head. "I can't. Shadow told me to keep you here. You have to stay here."

Cinderheart glared at Dawn. "My clanmate is with this council according to you. I need to see her. She's only a kit. I have to see her!'

Dawn was now worried. "Cinderheart please," she said. "It's best for you to stay here. If the council member sees you…" She trailed off.

"What? What will happen? Tell me!"

Dawn shook her head. "I'm sorry. I can't tell you. Shadow has told me-"

"I'm sick of hearing about Shadow!" Cinderheart was tired of this. First that weird dream and now Dawn was being difficult. Not to mention the other creepy stuff that's been happening. All she wanted was to go home with Cherrykit. "Can't you think for yourself!" She hated to do it but she unsheathed her claws. "Now let me go see this council member!"

Now Dawn was genuinely worried. "Please Cinderheart. Just don't fight me on this one. Please."

Cinderheart shook her head. "I want to meet this council member and know what happened to Cherrykit." She pushed off with her back paws and aimed her claws at Dawn's head.

She wasn't really sure what happened next but Dawn's expression changed and suddnely she was next to Cinderheart, her paw smashed against Cinderheart's side. Cinderheart tumbled to the ground, her head hit the ground hard. Through the pain she thought she saw Dusk standing over her but that was gone, now replaced by Dawn looking down at her in concern.

"Are you alright?" she asked. "I'm sorry about that."

Great. Looks like Dawn had the same crazy speed her sister did. "I'm fine," said Cinderheart. She slowly got back to her paws and watched Dawn cautiously but it looked like Dawn wasn't going to attack her again.

"It's best if you don't try that again," said Dawn. "I don't know if I can hold her back enough not to kill you."

Something about that sentence seemed odd but before Cinderheart could figure it out, Dawn looked back at the opening in the cave. "I have to get going," she said. "I'll come by later." She shot Cinderheart a warning look to not try the same thing again before slipping out.

The gray she-cat watched as the cave closed up again. She was now alone with her thoughts. And that weird dream. She shivered. Something about that dream didn't seem right to her. It was weird but she had the strange feeling that it wasn't an ordinary dream. It was something else entirely.


	5. Chapter 5

**Well, here is chapter 5 of Dancing Shadows. In this chapter Shadow gets to take center stage! –claps- And a few new characters are introduced.**

Shadow's long tail flicked back and forth as he waited at the entrance of Welgaria. His blue eyes scanned the dark foliage that surrounded the base of the mountain. The council member should be here soon. He wondered how Dawn was dealing with the guest. He hoped she would get Cinderheart to see reason but if he guessed currently she would be too stubborn to. He chuckled and closed his eyes to spend a few moments with amused thoughts.

It was wiped clean and he drew back on his neutral-leader face as he felt the presence of the council member getting closer. The scent of the member hit him before anything else and he inwardly was displeased.

"Oh Shadow. Nice of you to wait for me outside," spoke a dark gray tom as he slipped out of the tree shadows.

One of the members Shadow did not have the pleasure of liking. Volos. Not exactly known for his looks, he tended to look more snake-like than cat. His thin body was unnatural and the way his amber-golden eyes darted back and forth further drew the snake impression to mind. He slithered over to Shadow and stood before him. He was much shorter than Shadow but he had the cockiness of a snake. A snake that knows it is going to get its prey.

"How have you been?" he asked. Even his voice had the faint hint of cunning. It was like he knew everything that was going on. He bared his teeth. "You settle in fine? It's been a while since I've seen you."

"I'm fine," replied Shadow curtly. He got up and gestured for Volos to enter with a sweep of his long tail.

"Why thank you," said Volos before walking in.

Shadow glanced around at the foliage and casted his senses out. Nothing. He narrowed his eyes, not liking this, but there was nothing to do done about it. He followed Volos inside.

Like all the tunnels of Welgaria, the walls were coated in glowing moss to help light the way for the many cats that made their home in these tunnels. The cats were going about their daily duties to care for their mountain home. They passed by Shadow and Volos without a second glance. They knew not to make a second glance if they wanted to keep their heads.

"My my," said Volos. "You seem to have everything in working order." He looked over his shoulder at Shadow. "I'm quite surprised about that. I mean after what happened you seem to be shaping this place up well."

"That was moons ago," replied Shadow gruffly. He did not look away from Volos's snake-like eyes.

Volos stared at him for a few moments before facing forward again. "Well anyway. Let's pick up the pace shall we? There are many places I will have to look over before I can leave you."

Shadow just nodded in reply.

Volos continued through the tunnels. He would stop off at a side passage every now and then to check on the conditions of the caverns before continuing on. They were making their way down to the lower level, to the mine area.

"You know Shadow, you are very lucky to be in control of this area. There are many good things here. The mine is a true asset to the council. Although back then I wasn't sure I could trust you with something like this. Especially…"

Volos continued to drone on and on but Shadow's attention was drawn to Dawn who had slipped out of one of the side tunnels and was now walking beside the black tom. She looked up at Shadow and gave a slight nod before focusing all of her attention ahead.

That was all he needed. She was secure in the cell for the moment. He would have breathed a sigh in relief but that would not be in his best interest at the current moment.

"Oh! Dawn. When did you get here?" Volos stopped and turned around so he could fully view the she-cat that had just arrived.

"Just now," replied the she-cat. She kept her eyes lowered and the usual happy quirk to her voice was absent. "I had business to take care of in the upper tunnels."

"Oh my Shadow," Volos commented as he looked down at the she-cat. "This one is very obedient to you. If only mine were the same way." His eyes glinted with lust. "You mind letting me borrow her Shadow?"

Shadow's eyes narrowed and he moved closer to Dawn who was slightly shivering under the gaze.

"Relax," laughed the tom. "I was only kidding." He chuckled. "Sheesh. Can't take a joke these days can you? My my Shadow. You have changed much over these moons."

"You as well," replied Shadow, his voice, like always, level. But inside he was seething with anger. He wanted to rip those lustful eyes out of the snake's sockets.

"Have I?" He turned to go around a corner when a young tom who was almost making the turn from the other side rammed into him.

The tom hissed in annoyance for a moment until he saw who it was.

"How dare you," hissed Volos coldly. He lifted up one of his thin paws and unsheathed unnaturally long claws.

"I'm sorry Volos," said the tom. He scrambled to his paws and dropped to the ground, his head touching the floor. "I did not see you there. I will be more careful in the future."

"Oh? Really?" Volos placed his claws under the tom's chin and lifted the tom's head up. "How do I know that? How do I know this won't happen again in the future?"

The tom's eyes widen to huge disks. "No. It's true. I won't. I won't ever do it again."

"Empty promises are not something I like," he hissed. He moved his claws away and the tom breathed a sigh in relief.

Big mistake.

Quick as a snake he struck. Volos paw smashed into the tom's mouth, his claws digging into the back of the cat's mouth. The tom made choking noises and struggled to get away but Volos was not the kind to let his prey get away that easily. With tremendous force he shoved his paw downward, the jaw bone snapped off in the pressure, the throat slit apart. Volos removed his paw out of the dead cat's body, his body fluids creating a puddle around him.

"Sorry Shadow," said Volos as he shook his paw to get rid of the excess body fluid. When most of it was gone he licked up the rest with his tongue. "I seemed to have made a mess of your home."

"Don't worry," replied Shadow. He glanced at the cats that were gazing over in between their work. "It'll be cleaned up soon."

"You're so efficient. Mine won't listen to me like yours does. Takes them forever to get anything done. Now, time to see the mine shall we?" He stepped over the tom's body and continued on.

"Can you get it cleaned up quickly?" Shadow asked Dawn quietly.

Dawn nodded. "I'll get it taken care of right now. Better than dealing with Volos that's for sure."

Shadow nodded in agreement before leaving Dawn behind to take care of the mess. He caught up with Volos at the entrance to the mine area itself. Inside many cats worked away at the walls. They were all covered in dust and grime and all they had to show for it was a small pile of gemstones.

"Hmmm," Volos began looking through the pile. "You know, that expedition we had did lead to results. We got out paws on a promising she-cat."

"Oh?"

"She might even be the Resurrected for all we know," Volos continued to look through the gems. He looked over at Shadow. "The weird part was that one of our scouts returned with news that one of them was going to bring back another she-cat but for some reason didn't return. Know anything about it?"

"No," replied Shadow. "My duty is here in Welgaria. The expeditions to that place is none of my concern."

Volos sighed and removed his paw from the pile of stones. "You are too serious for your own good you know that?" He shook his head. "Unbecoming of somecat like you." When Shadow did not response Volos just chuckled. "Still a bit upset about _that_ are you? Fine fine. I'll get out of your fur now. Everything seems to be in working order." He walked past Shadow and headed for the exit. Shadow followed him like it was custom to.

When they finally made it out to the entrance of Welgaria, Volos turned back to Shadow one last time. "Glad to know that you are doing well," he said. "Wouldn't want you getting any ideas now."

"Of course not."

Volos disappeared into the undergrowth but Shadow did not move from his spot until he could no longer sense Volos's slimy presence around. It was only then did he relax, the set of his shoulders revealing how tense he was. They were able to hide Cinderheart's presence this time. He wondered if next time they would be this lucky.

Linelineline

Damia was not happy.

It was very difficult to tell from the outside though. Her long silver fur was neatly groomed against her lithe figure like always and her eyes were scanning around attentively. It was the way her tail was flicking back and forth that made cats give her a wide berth. A signal that she should not be approached under any circumstances.

Well, approached by ordinary cats.

"Stop it Damia," said a stocky brown tabby tom, "You're scaring all the workers away."

"Aeron," she looked to the side, in the direction of the small tunnel where that kit was kept. "I'm not sure about this one. "

"Another dud then?" replied Aeron. He sighed. "He's not going to be happy about this."

"Well if he gets better scouts then we wouldn't have this problem," Damia kicked up dirt with her paw. "And I would not have to be at this little base of his."

"It's not too bad," replied Aeron in amusement. He took in the tall trees surrounding them. They were in the heart of the forest that surrounded Welgaria. In fact, if a cat was to look in the right direction the mountain could be seen in the distance. "It's a pleasant place here."

"Right," she scoffed. "Pleasant place. If you weren't a council member I would smack you."

Aeron gasped in mock horror. "But that would be too cruel."

"You deserve it," murmured Damia. She perked up as one of the huge brutes that she had sent in with the kit come out. The perk turned into rage as she saw the brute was leading the kit out. "What is the meaning of this?" she hissed as she stormed over.

He dipped his head to Damia in respect. "I think you would want to see this." He pushed the small kit forward with his foot. It was then when Damia noticed that her eyes were shut. "Open your eyes," growled the large tom.

The kit obeyed without hesitation. Damia's eyes widen when she saw the eyes.

Light purple with flecks of gold spotted in them.

"Well what do you know?" commented Aeron. "I guess this cat wasn't a waste after all."

"Oh yes," chuckled Damia "Not a waste at all."


	6. Chapter 6

**So, here's chapter 6 for all of you who love this crazy story, which is a lot more than I thought would, haha.**

Cinderheart woke to the sound of the rock moving aside and she scrambled quickly to her paws as Shadow walked in. Sleep was now one of the last things on her mind as she looked at the pitch black tom. It was difficult to see him for the moonlight coming in through the small opening wasn't enough but she could still see his piercing blue eyes quite clearly.

"How have you been?" he asked quietly.

"I'm locked up and I don't get any answers to the questions I ask," snapped Cinderheart. "How do you think I feel?"

"I'm sorry but it is for your own safety." He hesitated. It looked like he wanted to say more but it was hard to tell in this dark lighting.

"For my safety huh," growled Cinderheart. She couldn't help her bad mood. She had been locked up in here with no explanation. The least he could do was answer her questions about Cherrykit.

"Come with me. I want to show you something."

That was not what Cinderheart was expecting. She had expected him to ask crazy questions about ThunderClan or something. What else could she even be good for anyway?

She was torn. On one paw she didn't want to go with him because of all this craziness he had put her through. However on the other paw what else could she do? She was a prisoner here. Who knew what he would do to her if she refused to go with him? She shivered as she thought of the first night that she had arrived in this crazy place. She didn't want to go through that.

Not wanting to know the answer to her question she followed him out of her cavern. She was surprised to find that she was now in Shadow's den. Huh. That was interesting to know.

Shadow led the way out of his den and into the tunnels. He was walking quickly and Cinderheart had to almost run to keep pace with his longer legs. Like every other time in the tunnels the turns were taken too quickly for Cinderheart to create a mental map of this place.

The scent of foliage hit her as they reached an opening. Her eyes widen as she stared at the odd plants around them. They were in the forest at the base of the mountain. Why would he take her out here? Didn't he except her to run away if given the chance?

"This way," said Shadow as he headed for the foliage. He paused and turned back to her. "It would be best to stick close to me. There are many dangers out here. None of the wildlife will hurt you if you are with me."

Cinderheart didn't like the sound of that so she followed him. Shadow walked through the undergrowth with a confidence that Cinderheart knew she couldn't have. She thought she could feel eyes watching her from the trees and she found herself drawing closer to Shadow. _"I'm only doing this because there's something out there,"_ she told herself. _"Nothing more. I don't want to die from being stupid."_

"Don't worry. They may be watching but they won't attack. I will make sure of that." Shadow glanced back at her to speak to her before continuing on.

Cinderheart wished she could bolt away from him and run into the forest to get away but all her instincts were screaming danger. There was something wrong with this forest but she couldn't put her paw on it. It may be just those things in the trees. She checked the trees but she couldn't see anything. However she knew something was up there and it was watching her.

"What's the sound?" asked Cinderheart as she heard a roaring sound in the far distance.

No.

It was getting louder. They were walking towards it.

Shadow didn't reply but continued to walk on.

"You don't answer questions much do you?" sighed Cinderheart.

"We're here," said Shadow as they broke the line of trees.

Cinderheart's eyes widen in wonder. Before them was a huge waterfall. The water came from a huge cliff overheard and crashed down into a huge pool that seemed even bigger than the lake. The power and sound was overwhelming but that wasn't what caught Cinderheart's attention. It was the sparkle that water had in the moonlight. Every drop that fell from the waterfall glistened with multiple colors. How was this even possible?

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Shadows walked forward and waded into the pool of moonlight water.

Cinderheart was suddenly hit by a wave of nostalgia. The waterfall, the way Shadow was standing in the water, the way he was looking back at her. It all seemed familiar. Like it happened before. But how could that even be possible? She had never been here before.

"The water has its own secrets," Shadow lowered his tail and ran it through the pool. "Come in here."

Cinderheart made a face and looked away. "No way. I'm not a RiverClan cat. Water is not for me."

Shadow seemed amused. "Oh?" He lifted his tail out of the water and threw drops of water at Cinderheart.

She yowled in surprise as the water hit her fur. She glared at Shadow who seemed pleased with himself. Forgetting the situation she was in and who this cat was, she jumped into the water and threw water at Shadow. The tom quickly retaliated with some water of his own and the two were engaged in a game of getting the other wet.

Cinderheart and Shadow splashed in the shallow end of the pool, their tails flicking water at the other. Cinderheart even pounced on Shadow to try to push him under but he ducked and she sailed over his head and crashed into the water. The good thing was she was able to land on her paws so only her belly fur got wet. Shadow chuckled and Cinderheart glared at him before attacking again.

It was only until Cinderheart was soaked did she remember this situation she was in. She looked away from Shadow and backed out of the water until she was on dry land again. How could she do something like that? She was a prisoner to this cat. She shouldn't be having fun with him. But it felt right in a way. Somewhere deep down she felt like this was also something that had happened before.

"Cinderheart?" Shadow stepped out of the water. His tail reached out to touch her shoulder but she flinched away, her eyes locked on the ground by her feet. She couldn't believe she had done something like that. She had never done something like that with anycat before. Why did she do it with him? He retreated his tail. "Alright then," he said softly, "Let's head back."

The two cats were silent as they walked away from the waterfall. Cinderheart was lost in thought that she didn't even notice that the things watching her were gone. She replayed the scene over and over in her head. Her and Shadow in the water playing. It seemed so familiar but how could be possible? She had never seen him before. She had never even been in this crazy place before.

_"But this isn't the first time something like this has happened."_ Cinderheart thought of the many times back in ThunderClan. Whenever she was in Jayfeather's den she had felt like she had been there before and her irrational fear of badgers even though she had never met one. What was going on here? Was there something wrong with her?

She bumped into Shadow and she looked at him in surprise. She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice that he had stopped to take in the view around them. Except it didn't look like he was taking in the scenery.

"What-"

"Quiet," hissed Shadow.

Cinderheart jumped. He seemed so tense compared to all the other times she had seen him. She glanced around to try to spot whatever Shadow was concerned about but she didn't see anything.

Shadow hissed and his tail swept out and hit Cinderheart hard. She fell to ground, her head painfully meeting the ground. Why did this seem to happen a lot?

Ignoring the throbbing pain she looked over at Shadow to snap at him but he was busy fighting something large. She couldn't really tell what it was. The moon wasn't bright enough here and all she could see was a huge blob. Flashes of blue told her that Shadow was fighting that thing. She scrambled to her paws. She realized that this was her chance. She could run away right now while Shadow as busy.

But.

He didn't do anything to her. He took her to a beautiful place. Why would he do something like that?

A sharp roar came from above her and Shadow was suddenly next to her. "Come on," he said. The stench of blood was thick on him and Cinderheart thought she could see the blood of whatever that thing was all over his fur. She looked back to the huge beast but it was gone, disappeared back into the dark trees that it had come from.

"Come on. I only scared it away, not killed it," snapped Shadow as he took off again.

Not wanting to be around if that thing came back, Cinderheart followed Shadow back to her prison.

Linelinelineline

Dusk entered Shadow's den and the first thing she smelled was the scent of blood. "Okay," she said. "Who just died in here?" She trailed off when saw Shadow in a corner of his cavern. His tongue was moving quickly across his fur to clean off blood. When he saw her standing there he shifted to the side but Dusk had already seen what he was trying to hide.

"What happened?" she snapped angrily as she stormed over. Shadow didn't bother trying to hide it from her. He learned long ago that her stubbornness knew no bounds.

"It's nothing," growled Shadow.

"Nothing!" cried Dusk. She stared at the wound. "I can see a bit of your ribs Shadow!"

"It'll heal enough by morning."

Dusk glared at Shadow like he was idiot before going over to the small pile of herbs and cobwebs in the corner. "Now let me clean it so it doesn't get infected." She didn't wait for a response from him to come over with the herbs. "So what happened?" she asked as she began to mash up a poultice.

"I took her out to the waterfall and on the way back we were attacked. I took care of it but it's not dead yet."

Dusk froze and she looked up at Shadow. "You took her to the waterfall? Shadow. Do you know how dangerous that is?" She glanced towards the wall of the cavern that functioned as an entrance to Cinderheart's room. "What if someone saw her?"

"I was careful," replied Shadow. He flinched as Dusk began to apply the mixture onto his wound. "Plus I wanted to check."

Dusk shook her head. "Shadow. It's not her. No matter what you may think it's not her."

"I know," replied Shadow. He closed his eyes and dropped his head to his paws. "I know Dusk."

Dusk did not say any more but continued to treat Shadow's wound. After she was done she stepped back to look over her handiwork. "Good," she said. "Now at least you won't bleed everywhere and make a huge mess. That'll be a pain to clean up."

"Thanks."

Dusk shook her head. "Don't thank me. I'm just fixing you up after your stupidity." She turned and was about to leave but Shadow called her back.

"Listen," he said, "I know it isn't her. She's never coming back. It's just that-"

"You don't need to tell me," replied Dusk. "I already know." She shook her head. "But you need to know when to let go." She slipped out of his den without another word.


	7. Chapter 7

**Well here is chapter 7. More craziness for you all!**

_The crowd of cats stared up at her with jeering malice filled eyes. She shivered under their gaze as she looked down from the rock she was forced to stand on. The cats continued to scream and yell at her._

_ "Kill her!"_

_ "Make her pay for what she had done!"_

_ She was shaking even more now. This hatred was terrible. This hatred was unjust. She wanted to scream out that it wasn't her fault. None of this happened because of her. However she knew her pleas would not calm these evil glares. They would only fuel the hatred on._

_ She sensed someone coming up behind her and she slowly exhaled her breath. It was time and there was nothing she could do about it. She was abandoned by all that had sworn to protect her. She could hear the cries of happiness from below as she turned to face the huge monster that had come up behind her. _

_ The huge jaw dripping with long canine teeth. Claws that could rip through anything. This was what waited for her. She shifted her eyes to look back at the sneering cats below her. They were worthless to her. Why was she scared of those beasts below when this one was scarier?_

_ "Do your worst," she hissed to the beast. She held her head up high. They will not get the satisfaction of hearing her scream. They will get nothing from her._

_ The beast lifted those cruel claws into the air and brought them down on her body. She clenched her teeth together to prevent a scream from coming out but it felt like fire was scorching her body. She was losing feeling quickly as those claws ripped through her but it still hurt. It burned her from the inside out. However she would not scream. She refused to scream._

Cinderheart's eyes shot open and she lifted her head in shock. Her body felt like it was being burned from the inside out but the pain was slowly fading away. What was going on? This was the second time something like this had happened. She shivered as she thought of that beast again. For some reason it reminded her of the beast she had seen last night with Shadow.

She felt her fur grow hot as she thought of the incident at the waterfall. "Calm down Cinderheart," she whispered. "That was nothing. Nothing at all." She shifted her thoughts back to the dream. Like the other one she had died in it. What did it mean? She stiffened. What if it was a dream from StarClan? What if they were trying to send her a message, a warning of something?

"Does these dreams mean I am going to die in some way?" Once the thought was out in the open it felt wrong someone. It felt like that wasn't the reason at all. But what was it then? She was an ordinary cat thrown into a weird place.

She thought of Lionblaze. What was he doing at this moment? Was he worried about her? Was he frantically searching for her? That made her feel a bit more lighthearted and she got to her paws.

It looked Dawn had already visited for a large rabbit was by the moving wall. She made her way over and quickly ate away at it. If she was going to help Lionblaze find her then she would need her strength.

She was about to go search the walls for any clues when the moving wall opened and Dawn walked through. The she-cat blinked in surprise to see Cinderheart up and about. "Oh! Well this makes it easier then!" Like always she was happy and peppy. Cinderheart seriously wondered where this attitude came from.

"What does?" asked Cinderheart.

"Well I was wondering what to do if you didn't wake up anytime soon," replied the black and white she-cat. "Shadow wanted me to take you out. You're probably tired of spending forever in here right?"

She opened her mouth to tell Dawn that she was out of here last night but she shut it again. Dawn didn't seem to know about it so why should she tell her? Plus she could use this time to try to figure out the layout of this place better so when she planned her escape she would be able to get out of here with ease.

Hopefully.

"That's right," replied Cinderheart.

"Great. Then follow me!" Dawn led the way out into Shadow's den.

It was then that Cinderheart scented blood. She turned her head to better catch the scent. It was then that she noticed the huge bloodstain on the area that Shadow usually slept on. "What happened?" she asked. The blood smelled like him. Was it his blood?

"Shadow was injured last night," replied Dawn. "I don't know how but he was." She shook her head. "It was really bad to. My sister told me she could even see some of his ribs!"

"Is he alright?" asked Cinderheart. How could she have not noticed the wound? Sure she had scented and saw the blood all over him but she had thought the blood was from that creature. And he looked fine. He was walking quickly back to the mountain but Cinderheart thought that was because he was worried that the beast would come back. Could it be possible that he was trying to get back to get help?

"He's fine," Dawn answered. "Shadow is not the kind to be stopped by a little wound like that." She chuckled as she looked down at the blood stain. "He's already up and running about. Anyway. Let's get going. Somecat will come by later to clean it up so you don't need to worry about it. Come on! Come on!"

Dawn began pushing Cinderheart with her nose until the gray she-cat relented and began following Dawn again. Her body was following Dawn but her mind was still thinking about what Dawn said.

Shadow had been injured last night and it was all her fault for being useless. But why did he hide the injury from her? That was the part that puzzled her. Was he worried that she would be worried?

No way.

Shadow was keeping her prisoner here. He had no reason to feel worried about her. But still. The waterfall incident made her think otherwise. She shook the thoughts away as Dawn announced they had reached their destination.

Cinderheart broke out of her thoughts to see they were standing before a cavern. Dawn was standing on the side; a signal for Cinderheart should go first.

Cinderheart complied. Her eyes widen as she entered. The walls of this cavern were covered in crystals and gems. A huge opening in the ceiling let in sunlight. This light bounced off the crystals to give the whole room a shimmering mystical quality to it.

"Pretty isn't it?" asked Dawn coming in.

Cinderheart nodded slowly. This was breathtaking just like waterfall from last night. And just like the waterfall a wave of nostalgia washed over her. It felt like she had been here before. She had enjoyed this cavern before. But how was that possible?

"I didn't know you were here."

Cinderheart flinched and whirled around. Shadow had just walked in. Her eyes went to his side and she saw traces of a long scar. Hang on. Dawn said it was a huge wound. How could it already be healed that far? She thought of Dawn's and Dusk's super speed. Did Shadow have a healing ability? That was the only explanation she had so she decided to stick with it.

"You don't mind right Shadow?" asked Dawn. "I thought Cinderheart might want to have some walks around Welgaria you know? To see some of the places."

Shadow nodded. "That's fine. Just be careful."

"Of course!" Dawn bounded over to Cinderheart. "Want to go deeper into this cavern? There's some prettier rocks in the back!"

"Uh, sure," replied Cinderheart.

"Then follow me! Come on!" Dawn was practically running deeper into the cavern.

Cinderheart glanced back at Shadow. He was watching her with those blue eyes. That ticked off something in her brain. Those eyes were familiar but where?

"Cinderheart!"

She snapped out of it. "Coming Dawn!" she called and she ran after the she-cat while sill being aware of Shadow's blue eyes on her.

Linelineline

Cherrykit did not care anymore.

She had given up her own will in those tunnels. The easiest thing to do was to follow orders. It was easy and required no pain. Right now all she had to do was follow the silver she-cat and her companion.

As she looked at the back of their heads she was trying to understand what was floating above their heads. They were squiggles of some sort. She had started seeing them over every cat's head after she had touched that ball of light. It was distracting in a way.

The she-cat, Damia suddenly stopped and Cherrykit looked up at her in surprise. She was looking at a she-cat that was approaching them. The cat was ragged with fur that Cherrykit wasn't sure the color was because of all the dirt and grime on it. By the she-cat's gait Cherrykit figured she was on the older end.

"What does members of the council want with an old cat like me?" she asked, her voice hoarse and raspy.

"Trust me Awena, I don't want to deal with you either," replied Damia. She roughly reached out with a paw and pushed Cherrykit forward. "Here you go. Have fun."

The old she-cat, Awena looked down at Cherrykit. The young she-cat just stared back. It didn't matter what happened to her. Huh? Cherrykit was confused. There was no squiggly thing above this she-cat's head.

"Is she a death seer?" asked the tom, Aeron was his name.

Awena lifted her head and stared at the two cats. "Of course. She was probably staring above your heads for a while now if you weren't so mouse-brained to notice."

"How dare you!" hissed Damia. Aeron lifted his tail and held it before the silver she-cat. He sent a warning look to her.

Death seer?

Cherrykit wondered what that meant. However as soon as the thought crossed her mind she pushed it away. Thoughts were dangerous. Thinking would get her in trouble. That would bring pain. Pain that she did not want.

"So you've come all the way here to see me to train this kit then?" Awena chuckled. "What's the council thinking?"

"Train her please," spoke Aeron. "We will pay you your fee. We want to use her to find the Resurrected."

Awena laughed. It was an old raspy laugh but it was one all the same. Damia's eyes were blazing in anger. "How dare you laugh?" she hissed. "I will tear you apart where you stand!"

"And then what?" asked the old cat. "You will have no one to train this death seer."

Damia growled angrily and she looked away.

Awena turned to Aeron. "I don't have a choice on this matter do I? The council wants this one trained."

Aeron nodded. "Yes. It would be appreciated if she is ready as soon as possible."

"Easy for you to say," growled Awena. She reached out and pulled Cherrykit close. The kit wrinkled her nose at the stench of this old cat. "I will train her. I want my fee left here every morning."

"Of course," replied Aeron. He dipped his head. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me," replied Awena. "I am doing nothing. This she-cat has the unfortunate destiny to help you Council Members."

Damia looked like she wanted to tear Awena's face off. However she turned away and stalked off into the forest. Cherrykit watched her go and a bit of her rejoiced in the fact that her tormentor was gone.

"Come on kit," said Awena. "We have lots of work to get done."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8. This chapter actually ended up being shorter than the rest…Oh well. It's more or less a transition chapter as the next one is where the REAL stuff happens.**

Cinderheart and Dawn returned to Shadow's den after exploring the beautiful cave. The weird part was that the whole time they were in those caves Cinderheart had a feeling that she had been there before.

When they entered the den Shadow was sitting on his moss bed. It seemed like he had been grooming himself before they had come in.

"Had fun?" he asked.

Dawn nodded and bounded over to the black tom. "Lots!" she exclaimed. "We went through all of the caves and saw all of the rocks and…" Dawn continued on. It didn't even look like she was stopping to breathe in between talking at all.

Shadow turned his eyes to Cinderheart and watched as the she-cat awkwardly stood there. She shifted her eyes back and forth in the cavern. What was she supposed to do? She saw that the pathway to her little area was closed off. Great. She was stuck here with Shadow staring at her.

"Dawn," he said, shifting his eyes back to the she-cat. "Don't you have work to do?"

Dawn blinked, like she couldn't believe that Shadow was interrupting her very important talk about the different jewel caverns. "Oh yes!" she exclaimed. "I completely forgot!" She whirled around and almost ran into Cinderheart. "Whoops! Sorry. I have lots of things to do!" She went around the gray she-cat and left.

Cinderheart gulped. Great. Now she was alone with Shadow. Things couldn't get any worse than this could they?

"I have a question for you," said Shadow. He hadn't moved from his spot on his moss bed but his full attention was now on the gray she-cat.

"What is it?" asked Cinderheart cautiously.

"Have you been having nightmares?"

Cinderheart stiffened. How did he know about her dreams? She ran her mind through all the possibilities. Could he read her mind? That had to be the only explanation right?

"I heard you screaming," said Shadow.

Cinderheart blinked. She had been screaming? How come she didn't know about this? Oh StarClan. Did that mean whenever she went to sleep she had a crazy dream but she didn't remember them all? "I…"

Shadow got to his paws and slowly approached Cinderheart until he was standing before her. The she-cat backed up a step out of fear. She didn't really realize how large he was until he was standing right next to her. In fact he looked to be about the size of a small fox. "What have you been dreaming about to make you scream like that?"

Cinderheart's eyes were on the ground by Shadow's paws. "I don't remember," she said. It was the half-truth so she wasn't really lying. She wasn't telling the truth either. She looked up at him and saw he was staring down at her. His eyes were not judging her but they continued to look down at her. It was like he knew she wasn't telling the truth. She looked away. This was stifling.

"You are lying," he said quietly.

Cinderheart flinched. "N-No. I wasn't." Great. She sounded even worse now.

"Why do I have the feeling that you're lying?"

Cinderheart backed again but she couldn't. She was pressed against one of the cavern walls. "Why should I tell you the truth? You've been keeping my prisoner here! Why should I tell you anything?" In her mind she was screaming for herself to stop. Her situation wasn't too bad at the moment. At least she could figure out some way to escape with what she had.

"Because you are in my care," he said.

Cinderheart stopped speaking and stared at him. His care? The way he said it, it made it sound like he was doing her a favor! She tired of living in a place like this. She wanted to go home. She wanted to spend time with Lionblaze, talk to her sister. Anything! She just wanted to be away from here. She didn't really how she managed to get the courage but she lashed out with an unsheathed paw. The claws slashed across Shadow's face and he recoiled back.

Her eyes widen in shock. Oh StarClan. What did she just do?

"You ungrateful!" Dusk seemed to come out nowhere. Her paw smashed against Cinderheart's head. She banged painfully into the cavern wall and she sunk to the ground.

She blinked away spots in her eyes, her head throbbed painfully. Through the pain she saw Shadow pulling Dusk away from her by the scruff of her neck.

"Let me go Shadow!" she snarled. "This she-cat doesn't know anything. She doesn't appreciate anything. She doesn't know anything about what happened. She doesn't know about all that we had to do to keep her here!"

"Dusk," growled Shadow. "Enough."

Dusk pulled away from Shadow and whirled around to face the black tom. "You are the one that needs to know the meaning of enough," Her golden eyes shifted over to Cinderheart who was still on the ground trying to recover. "This she-cat can never be her," Dusk snapped. "You need to get that Shadow! This she-cat will never be Renella."

Shadow fell silent and looked away. "You're right about that," he said quietly before leaving the cavern without another word.

Cinderheart slowly got to her paws. The atmosphere was heavy and tense and Dusk looked like she wanted to murder someone. The black and white she-cat glared at Cinderheart. "It's all your fault you know," she sneered. "If you weren't here then we would be fine."

"What are you talking about?" Cinderheart was tired of this. She was tired of being in this crazy place; she was tired of being bossed around. And Dusk was now adding to the wound. "Who is Renella?"

Dusk scoffed, "You should know the answer to that question." She walked over to the moving wall and pressed a part of the wall. It slide open and Dusk turned back to Cinderheart. "Go in there or I will send you in there in pieces."

Cinderheart silently obeyed. Once she was inside she turned to Dusk just as the she-cat was closing the passageway and said, "No. I don't know who Renella is."

Linelineline

Dawn looked around to make sure no cat was around before slipping into a small side passageway. It was one of the unused ones and if anycat saw her they would question where she was going. Even if she was Shadow's second in command it would not be a good idea to push her luck.

The tunnel led into a huge cavern. The ground was littered with huge stone spikes that rose up to the huge hole in the ceiling that let in moonlight. Dawn weaved through the stone spikes until she found what was looking for.

"Shadow?" she whispered. It was impossible to see him in the corner of the room. The only way she knew was those blue eyes of his that were gazing at her.

"Dawn," he said slowly. "Was it right to bring her here?"

"Of course," said Dawn quickly. "I mean you've been looking for her for moons!" She bounced over to Shadow. "You know, cause you're always right. Bringing her here will help her remember. You said so yourself that she remembers."

"She only remembers the deaths," replied Shadow. "That's all. That isn't something that one should only remember. I should take her back."

"Shadow…" Dawn said slowly.

"Don't look at me like that. I know what I am doing." A glint appeared in Shadow's eyes. A reminder of the past. He was pushing himself and Dawn knew it. He was trying to forge Renella.

"I don't think you do," said Dawn. The she-cat shook her head sadly.

Shadow got to his paws and placed his tail on Dawn's head. "Dawn," he said slowly. "I do. This is for the best."

"For the best for her," said Dawn as Shadow walked around her. "But not for you."

The tom stopped in his tracks and said, "Yes. What's best for her."


	9. Chapter 9

**Here is chapter 9! College is fun but it's killing all my writing time. –sigh- Oh well. The time for craziness has begun!**

Cinderheart sat silently in her prison, the only light coming from a beam of sunlight coming in through the little opening in the wall. She could still vividly picture Dusk's reaction to her. Cruel. She was just so cruel. Why though? Who was Renella? She shut her eyes tight. She just didn't understand.

The sound of moving rock made her eyes snap open. She got to her paws as it fully opened and an unfamiliar cat was standing there.

He wasn't tall or lanky but he wasn't short either. He was somewhere in between with thick brown fur. "Oh!" he exclaimed, his gray eyes stretched wide in surprise.

"Who are you?" asked Cinderheart, her voice filled with suspicion. The first night came back to mind plus how Dawn had told her to not wander around alone. If this tom tried anything she would tear him apart.

"I'm just a new worker here," replied the tom. He stepped into the cavern and looked around. "This looks horrible!" His gray eyes turned back to Cinderheart. "Did you do something wrong? I heard rumors that Shadow was keeping a prisoner but I didn't think it was true. He always seemed so nice."

"I did nothing wrong!" snapped Cinderheart. "I was brought here against my own will." The tom jumped in surprise as the harshness in Cinderheart's tone. He looked so nervous that she felt sorry for him. "Sorry. It's just that I've been stuck here for a long time now. And something happened and that well, it made me upset."

"Like?" prompted the tom. He settled on his haunches and leaned forward slightly. "You can tell me?"

Cinderheart didn't know why but the tom seemed to radiate kindness. And he actually seemed to listen unlike some other tom. Plus he was sitting at a respectable distance away from her, like he knew how nervous she was. "He," she began. "Shadow, I mean. Well he thinks of me like some other cat. Some cat named Renella."

The tom blinked. "Renella?" He looked Cinderheart over. Not in a disturbing way but in a confused way, like he was looking for something that wasn't there. "How can that be? You look nothing like her?"

You know this Renella?" Cinderheart stepped closer to the tom. "How? Who is she?" Excitement filled her. Maybe this could give her clues to why she was here.

"She was Shadow's lover," he replied. "And she had bright red fur. It was very pretty and striking. I only saw her once in a crowd but I immediately remembered her."

"Was?" asked Cinderheart. "You're speaking about her like she's dead."

He nodded. "Yes. She died moons ago. I heard she was murdered."

"But why does he think I'm Renella?" asked Cinderheart. It made no sense. She would be in StarClan. She would be able to visit him in dreams and such. How could he see this she-cat in her? It made no sense.

The tom shook his head. "I don't know but it makes no sense to keep you prisoner here." The tom got up and walked out of the cavern and was back a moment later. "Shadow isn't here. I can take you somewhere safe."

"You shouldn't. You'll get in trouble," protested Cinderheart. Who knew what happened here to cats that disobeyed. She liked this tom. She didn't want him to get in trouble because of her.

The tom shook his head. "No. I can't just leave you here. Come with me. Let's go."

"But…"

The tom shook his head again. "Do you really want to stay a prisoner here? Let me help you escape, please. I know you are worried for my sake but I'll be fine, don't worry about me."

Cinderheart closed her mouth and the rest of her protests. This tom wanted to help her ad it looked like nothing she would stop him from doing just that. So she just nodded and followed him out of the cavern to the tunnels.

Linelinelineline

Dawn followed in a quick pace behind Shadow. After their talk, he had decided to return to the cave to get Cinderheart and take her home. Dawn would be sad to see her go. Cinderheart was a nice and funny she-cat. There weren't many of those around. Plus they tended to be scared of Dawn because of her second in command position.

They entered Shadow's den and Dawn waited while Shadow opened the door to the cavern and stepped inside. She thought over any last second things she wanted to talk to Cinderheart about. Hmmm. Maybe she should tell her about her sister and her. That would be something she wanted to tell her about.

She perked up when Shadow came out again but her happy expression dropped when she saw the serious expression on Shadow's face. "What's wrong?"

"She's gone," replied Shadow, quickly walking past her.

Dawn glanced back at the cavern confused before hurrying after Shadow. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"She's gone," replied Shadow as they quickly ran down the tunnels. "Dawn. I need Dusk."

Dawn's eyes widen. "Is it serious?"

"It is," replied Shadow grimly. "It is."

Linelinelineline

"Here we are! The outside!" exclaimed the tom as the two exited the cave. They were at the base of the mountain, the same exit that Shadow had taken Cinderheart to see the waterfall before.

"Thank you," said Cinderheart to the tom. He knew the tunnels better than she did. It was probably because he had to learn the tunnels to do his job or he would end up getting lost.

The tom purred, "Don't worry about it. But where are you going to go?"

"Home," replied Cinderheart. She looked up at the sky. That was where Dawn had said she had come from. How she would get up there she had no idea. She would figure it out though. She would go back and tell the clan what happened. Then she would be able to come back with reinforcements to bring Cherrykit back.

"Can you get home?" asked the tom. "Do you know where it is from here?"

"I'll figure it out," Cinderheart dipped her head to him. "Don't worry yourself about me. You should get back before you get in trouble because of this."

"But-" began the tom. He never got to finish for a dark blur tore out of the cave entrance and slammed into the tom. He was sent flying and he hit the ground a couple pawsteps away.

"Shadow," whispered Cinderheart.

The black tom looked bigger than before and his blue eyes seemed to blaze with anger. Dusk was right behind him and the she-cat ran to Cinderheart's side. "You cause more trouble than you are worth you know that?" she hissed.

Cinderheart glared at her angrily. She turned to Shadow who was now approaching the tom. "Leave him alone!" she screamed. She tried to run to his aid but Dusk held her back. "He did nothing wrong. Blame me, not him!"

Shadow stopped in his tracks and for a moment Cinderheart thought that he was going to listen to her. It was quickly shattered when he spoke. "Garner. I didn't expect you to be slithering around here."

The brown-furred tom chuckled and got to his paws. His expression seemed to morph from the nice gentle one to a hard battle ready one. "Shadow. It's been a while. I am quite surprised by the…treat you've been hiding." His gray eyes shifted over to Cinderheart and this time they were leering and filled with longing.

"What?" whispered Cinderheart in shock, "What's going on? I thought you were-"

"Forgot anything that tom told you," spat Dusk. "He's Garner, the intelligence gatherer. He works directly under the council."

"But that can't be," protested Cinderheart. "He said he was a new worker."

"Aww," said Garner. "How cute. She still wants to believe that I was going to save her from you Shadow. That's funny you know that?" He shook his head slowly. "When the council gets the whiff of this, well Shadow you're going to be in more trouble and you are going to find out that Welgaria is a heaven compared to what's coming to you next."

Cinderheart was numb. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be.

"You get it now?" hissed Dusk. "We were protecting you from the council. We would have been able to keep you safe longer if you hadn't opened your big mouth and told Garner everything."

"I…" began Cinderheart.

"Don't worry about it," growled Shadow. "Garner is good at his job. He can become anyone he wants to to get the information he needs." Shadow narrowed his eyes and unsheathed his claws.

Garner hissed and backed up a few steps. "Shadow Shadow Shadow. I think you would know that I will not take you on in a fight." He chuckled. "Not many can do that." He dipped his head to Cinderheart. "See you later. Maybe we can be friends." He disappeared into the undergrowth.

"Shouldn't we go after him?" asked Dusk as Shadow turned around and began walking back to Welgaria.

Shadow shook his head. "We don't have time. The council is going to send somecats. We need to be ready." He turned to Cinderheart. "I was going to take you home but that is impossible now. All the ways back will be guarded. And we need to prepare. Dusk. Take care of that."

The she-cat nodded and hurried back into the tunnels.

"Shadow…" began Cinderheart. She winced as the tom turned to her. His eyes were cold now. "I'm sorry. I didn't know-"

"That doesn't matter," he replied curtly. "Follow me."

Meekly Cinderheart followed Shadow back into Welgaria. She had the feeling that something big was going to happen. Something that would change everything. The foreboding feeling was scary to her. It felt familiar like it had happened before. Why? Why did she have these feelings? Her thoughts continued to spiral through her head as Shadow took her through the tunnels.


	10. Chapter 10

**Here is chapter 10. Sorry for the long wait everyone. College is horrible for my writing time.**

Cinderheart didn't know what to do. She was in Shadow's room because that's where he told her to stay for right now. He told her that he'd be right back. Dusk had shot Cinderheart a death look which gave the gray she-cat the impression that disobeying probably wasn't the best idea. So she sat in Shadow's den, in the main area this time, not her little prison. She was left alone with her own thoughts and she didn't like it. She knew she should help out, this was all her fault but what could she do? They wouldn't let her do anything! She was useless.

She blinked. This feeling of uselessness felt familiar. Just like all those other times. Did something like this happen before? She shut her eyes tight to try to pull up whatever memory it was. However it remained just out of reach. No matter how much she tried she couldn't get any closer to the memory.

"Hey, how're you feeling?"

"Dawn," said Cinderheart as the she-cat walked in. She was happy it was her and not her sister. She didn't know if she could deal with Dusk's snide remarks at the moment.

Dawn nodded. "Yup! It's me! Anyway, come on. We're getting out of here before _they_ show up."

Cinderheart shivered at the mention of _they_. She didn't know why, she didn't even know who _they_ were, whatever it implied it sent fear through her.

She followed Dawn out of the cave and after many twists and turns they were in the open circular area from the first night. Cinderheart shivered again. The howls from the first night where clear in her mind. She didn't want to remember that again.

The moon was shining overhead, shocking Cinderheart to how much time she really spent in Shadow's cave, and waiting. Speaking of Shadow, he was also there, at the center, waiting for them.

"Let's go," he said curtly. However he didn't move. Instead he growled and backed up until he was next to Dawn and Cinderheart. "They're here," he hissed.

Cinderheart felt her heart jump to her throat as she saw cats appear over the ridge. All came in many shapes and sizes but all had malice in their eyes. It was a small cat though that caught Cinderheart's attention. "Cherrykit!" Cinderheart was about to step closer but Shadow held her back.

"She's not the cat you knew."

"What do you mean…" Cinderheart's voice trailed off when she saw Cherrykit's eyes gazing down at her in a vivid purple.

"See those cats down there?" cackled a filthy she-cat next to Cherrykit. "The gray one, what's above her head?"

Cherrykit squinted as she looked down at the cats.

"Cherrykit! Run!" screech Cinderheart. She didn't understand why her eyes were purple but she had to save her niece from the crazy cats!

Cherrykit ignored Cinderheart's request. In fact it didn't even seem to register the cat that was talking to her was her aunt.

"She…" began Cherrykit.

"Can you just say yes or no?" snapped a silver she-cat.

"Patience," said a brown tom.

"She doesn't have anything," said Cherrykit, surprise in her voice.

Yowls ran through the cats on the ridge.

"Dawn, I need Dusk," said Shadow quietly.

"Of course-Shadow. What's the plan?"

Cinderheart jumped and stared at Dawn in shock. She was now holding herself with Dusk's loftiness. Were they the same cat? How was that possible? Although that did explain why their scents were the same and how she had never seen them at the same time.

"I want you to take Cinderheart into the secret tunnels, Keep running until you reach there. I will catch up in a bit."

"What are you talking about?" hissed Cinderheart. 'There's like, twenty cats up there, you can't fight them all alone."

"He'll fare better than you would in a battle," snapped Dusk. She shot a look at the cats on the ridge. "Now come on before I cut your legs off and drag you."

Cinderheart looked back and forth between the two cats. Shadow was staring up at the cats, the council, while Dusk was glaring at her. "Alright," she whispered. She hated to leave her fate to another but she had no idea what was going on.

"Great. This way, run and you better keep up!" Dusk broke into a run and headed for the cave again. Cinderheart not really knowing what else to do followed her.

Linelinelineline

"Oh Shadow," chuckled Damia from the ridge. The black tom glared up at the silver she-cat. Her partner Aeron also seemed very amused by this. "I knew you were an odd one but still. I didn't think you would try to take on two members of the council."

"You don't know anything about me," Shadow replied coldly. He could feel his power rising within him. It's been a long time since he was forced to use them. Not since then. Sorrow welled up within him as he thought of that time. Sorrow that also fueled his anger. It was because of the council that it had happened.

Aeron sighed. "I think Shadow's getting angry with us Damia. You really need to stop pushing his buttons. He's such a bother to deal with."

"I said kill him but you were one of the few that wanted to still keep him around," snapped Damia. She turned to Shadow, her eyes glinting with battle fever. "Go," she yowled to the cats that surrounded her. "Go and kill him!"

Linelinelineline

Cinderheart glanced back.

"Don't you dare think of going back," spat Dusk as they were running.

"I wasn't going to," replied Cinderheart.

They were deep in the tunnels. Dusk had taken Cinderheart down a side tunnel which led to another side tunnel which led to another. It soon got too confusing so Cinderheart gave up on trying to figure out where they were going.

Soon the tunnel opened up and they seemed to be at the edge of a wasteland. The forest was behind him and a huge desert stood before them.

"Follow me," said Dusk as she turned to the direction of the forest and entered a small cave in the base of a hill. Cinderheart followed close behind her. The inside was covered in glowing moss and Cinderheart was surprised to see a small pool of water in the back along with some dead fresh-kill sitting on a corner spot. "This is our emergency hideout," said Dusk-no it was Dawn now. It was very unnerving to know that the two cats were the same. "What is it?" she asked.

Cinderheart shook her head. "Sorry, I wanted to ask…how it happened but that would be really rude."

"How it happened?" Dawn repeated slowly. She thought for a moment and then perked up again. "Oh! How Dusk and I became the same cat?"

Cinderheart didn't answer. She felt like it was too personal of a question to ask but she still wanted to know how it could be possible. She had never heard of anything like this before.

"Don't worry," said Dawn cheerfully, "I don't mind." She settled down on the ground. "Let's see…where to begin? Oh yes, okay, here's how it went. I don't really remember the details well but it actually happened when my sister and I were being born."

Cinderheart stared at Dawn in shock. "You remember being born?"

Dawn shook her head, "Not anymore. I just remember the story that we kept telling each other so we would remember. Anyway, we used to be two cats but when we were being born, one of us was dying-we don't remember which one of us was-but we did know that if she was born, she would die. So the other one-I don't know if it was me or Dusk-but we accepted the other's soul into our own body so that she wouldn't die. And well, that's what you see today. We've lived our whole lives together."

Cinderheart just stared at Dawn. She was dumbstruck. It seemed impossible that something like this could happen but ever since she came here, she's been seeing one weird thing after another. So it could be possible that Dawn was telling the truth. "But… isn't it hard to live like that? To share one body?"

Dawn shook her head. "No. We complement each other. I can't dream of living without Dusk with me. We are together through everything." Her ears perked up and she glanced over at the entrance to the cave.

Cinderheart looked as well. She didn't see anything at first but the scent of blood slammed into her at full force. She gasped in shock as Shadow stumbled into the cave, his body covered with wounds of many shapes and sizes, blood was guzzling out of them in ridiculous amounts and splattered all over the floor. She shook her head to make sure she wasn't seeing things but Shadow also had a pair of huge jet black wings coming out of his back.

"Shadow!" Dawn ran to his side as Shadow collapsed to the ground. Cinderheart stood rooted to the spot as Dawn looked the tom over. "Cinderheart. Please, save him."

"What are you talking about?" cried Cinderheart. She stared at the injuries. "He shouldn't even be alive after all that!"

"I'll explain it all later but you have to help him now," said Dawn. She was clearly distraught. "Cinderheart. You may not understand what is going on but you are the only one that can save him. He fought for you Cinderheart."

"Why?" asked Cinderheart. "Why?"

"You're the Ressurrected Cinderheart. And you are the only one that can save him now."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11. AKA, the explanation chapter! Yup! Some of the mystery will be cleared up!**

"The Resurrected?" repeated Cinderheart. The word seemed to have a certain ring to it. It felt right to Cinderheart. Like everything could be explained know with that one word. Wait. "What does that mean?" she asked. "I feel like I should but I don't."

Dawn looked down at Shadow in concern. "I will explain it but first you need to help him." She gestured with her tail for Cinderheart to come closer.

The gray she-cat obeyed. When she was next to Shadow she could see the wounds in gruesome detail. She swallowed back her bile. The scent was overwhelming and could she see his bones through torn skin?

"I think you would feel uncomfortable if it was your neck so we'll use your leg instead," said Dawn. She gestured for Cinderheart to lift her paw. She obeyed and before Cinderheart could react, Dawn had slashed a long wound across Cinderheart's leg.

"What in the name of StarClan!" yowled Cinderheart in shock. She recoiled away from Dawn.

"Your blood," replied Dawn. "He needs your blood. The blood of the Resurrected has healing properties." She shifted Shadow's head so he could receive the blood easier. Her eyes locked onto Cinderheart. "It will probably feel uncomfortable at first but you will be fine as it will feel like second nature to you."

Cinderheart gulped and moved closer to Shadow again. He did do this battle all for the sake of her. If she could help him in any way she had to do it. She was a warrior of ThunderClan after all. _"Or am I truly a ThunderClan cat?"_ she thought sadly to herself. These cats here knew who she was and she was something called the Resurrected, something from this crazy place. Did that mean she was not a ThunderClan cat at all? She yelped as Shadow's teeth clamped around her leg.

"That's a normal reaction," explained Dawn as she patted Cinderheart with a paw. "It's any cat's instinct around here to do that when they are given the Resurrected's blood."

"Why?" asked Cinderheart. She was shivering as she felt Shadow sucking away at the blood from her leg, his teeth digging into her skin. However her shivering subsided and she felt a sense of calm wash over her. This felt right somehow. It felt like it should be like this.

"The Resurrected is a sort of…" Dawn trailed off and seemed to thinking hard. "Oh, this is so difficult to explain. We all just know what the Resurrected is so explanations are never needed. Umm, I know! The Resurrected is like a higher being."

"Higher being?" repeated Cinderheart. She thought for a few moments. "You mean like the leader of a clan?"

Dawn shook her head. "No. Higher. Like directly under the heavens. Every cat bows down to the Ressurected."

Cinderheart's eyes widen. "What? Why?" She flinched as she felt Shadow release her. She looked down at the tom but he was just sleeping peacefully but did it seem like the horrible wounds all over him were getting smaller?

"He's had enough," Dawn sighed. "He'll be fine. He'll just need to sleep for a while now. Come on. Let's go over there and continue our talk."

Cinderheart nodded but she was very woozy as she walked over. It was probably from the lack of blood. Shadow had drank a lot.

"Here," said Dawn, pulling a rabbit over to her. "Your body has probably never needed the regenerate blood skill so you're going to need iron until it kicks in."

"Thanks?" Cinderheart didn't understand a word of what Dawn said. But this whole situation was weird so she just accepted it and began eating the rabbit.

The black and white she-cat sighed. "Okay. So the Resurrected has the ability to heal any cat if they drink her blood. That's one of the reasons why she's considered a higher being of a sort. She would travel around, helping any cat she could. I heard even illnesses were no match for her power."

"You refer to the Resurrected as a her, are you talking about Renella?"

Dawn flinched. "How did you? Never mind. Anyway, no. I was not just referring to Renella. You see, all the Resurrected are reincarnations of each other. The same soul passed down. You probably had dreams didn't you? Of places that just seemed too real and detailed to just be a dream? And you've felt like you've been places or did something before."

Cinderheart nodded. She knew exactly what Dawn was talking about but still… "Who was Renella? I knew she was the cat Shadow loved but…" She trailed off when she saw Dawn look away, clearly uncomfortable.

"Renella, she was Shadow's lover," said Dawn slowly. "And she was also the Resurrected." She looked at Cinderheart head on. "She was you. She was who you used to be."

Cinderheart just stared at Dawn. She was shell shocked. "That's…"

"You know it's true," said Dawn. Did she seem sad in some way? It felt like it to Cinderheart.

"What happened to Renella? To me?" Cinderheart's thoughts ran to the first dream she had. That dream. She had a feeling that that dream was from Renella's point of view. She shivered as she thought of the claws that ripped through her body.

"She was murdered," said Dawn. "The council, they are a group of cats that now control this region. Back, many moons ago they were just a small group in charge of protecting the Resurrected. The Resurrected at the time, Renella was a kind caring soul. However, the council was tired of just being a pawn to the Resurrected. They wanted to use the resurrected's power for domination purposes."

"How? I mean, I don't think healing powers could do so much."

Dusk shook her head. "It's actually said that the Resurrected actually has a fighting power too. Although no one actually knows why and how to use it since all the Resurrected up to this point have been healers. But it is said that she does have that kind of power. Anyway, so the council began plotting on how to activate this power. Renella got wind of it and Shadow, who was already her lover at the time, suggested that they escape to the other world through the lake." The she-cat paused when she saw Cinderheart's confused look. "The lake is what you were dragged through to get to this world. There should be a lake on your side as well and it connects the two worlds together."

"But then how did no cat from my side come here?" Cinderheart remembered the incident when Jayfeather, Hollyleaf, Lionblaze and the WindClan kits were trapped in the tunnels and washed out into the lake. Lionblaze had confined that story in her. Lionblaze. It's been a while since she had thought of him. She wondered how he was doing. Did he miss her?

"Does any cat from your world know about this one?" Cinderheart shook her head. "There you go," continued Dawn. "Only if you know about both worlds will you be able to travel back and forth. Anyway, the night Renella was to escape into your world, she was attacked. She ran towards the lake in an attempt to flee and almost made it there…until she was cut down. By the way you're shivering, you remember that event."

Cinderheart nodded. "Yes, and I wish I didn't."

Dawn placed her tail on Cinderheart's shoulder in comfort before continuing. "Anyway, the council thought they had won since the Resurrected's soul would be reborn and then they could train the she-cat from an early age to follow their ideals. However that didn't happen because the soul was missing. They didn't realize it much later but her soul had somehow made it through the pathway between your world and this and you were born in your world."

"I…I think I was born twice," said Cinderheart slowly. She remembered how she felt at home in the medicine cat den and how she had a weird fear of badgers despite never meeting one.

"I wouldn't be surprised," replied Dawn. "The Ressurect's soul, in whatever world it's in, cannot die. You will always be reborn again. Anyway, it was around the time that they figured out that you were probably in the other world did searches get sent out. And well you know what happened in the searches."

Cinderheart nodded. That's where she came in and woke up in this crazy place. She glanced over at Shadow. He was sleeping peacefully now and did his injuries seem more healed than before? Could it be because of her? Because she had the power of healing? "What about him? What happened to him? How did he meet Renella?"

Dawn shook her head. "I'm sorry Cinderheart but I don't know. I don't know the details well of the relationship." She looked away. "But I did know there was love between the two of you."

Cinderheart had a strange feeling that Dawn knew a lot more than she was letting on but for once she didn't mind that Dawn was holding stuff back. There was so much to think about already, so much for her take in. She was the Resurrected. She had the power to heal cats with her blood. Oh StarClan. What if she brought this power back to ThunderClan? Then ThunderClan wouldn't have to worry about death from injuries or illness. She could save them all. And from how Dawn put it, her blood would replenish faster than normal too so she could do it many times. But, how could she get home? They were under attack from the council now because they knew about her. And oh StarClan. Cherrykit.

"What happened to Cherrykit?" she asked quietly. She feared for her niece.

"She's a death seer," replied Dawn. The black and white she-cat shook her head sadly. "I didn't expect a death seer to come from your world but I guess it's possible. You just wouldn't know about the powers, that's all. Anyway, death seers are cats who can see the lifespans of other creatures besides other death seers. Basically she knows the exact moment when anycat will die, tomorrow, a moon from now. Only the Resurrected doesn't have a number because you can never truly die. The soul is just passed on from one cat to another."

"But how did this power come about? I mean, did she always have it? Her eyes weren't purple before."

"Traumatic experience usually brings out powers," Dawn looked away again. "She was probably raped."

Cinderheart's blood turned cold. "What?" she whispered softly. She tried to process it through. "But she's only a kit," she choked out. "Barely six moons."

"They were probably trying to figure out if she was the Resurrected or not or if she knew anything about it. That would have activated her power. Nothing else could explain it."

Cinderheart's blood boiled. How could Dawn talk about this like she was talking about the weather? A kit was raped here! Something like that would never be allowed in the clans. "How can you talk like it's nothing!" she cried. "She was raped for StarClan's sake!"

Dawn blinked slowly like she really couldn't understand why Cinderheart was acting like this. "Yes she was."

"Don't you feel any remorse!" cried Cinderheart. She jumped to her paws. "I want to rip those council cats apart for touching her!" No wonder she didn't react to seeing Cinderheart. The kit was probably traumatized.

Dawn's face contorted until Cinderheart was looking at Dusk. "So?" she sneered. "You just don't know anything do you? You think just rape is horrible? You don't know some of the things that happen here with the council," she spat bitterly. "Plus the raping probably stopped after her power was revealed."

Cinderheart bit back her remark. There was something in Dusk's tone that caught Cinderheart's attention. "Were you-I mean were the two of you?"

Dusk got to her paws and stalked to the back of the den where a couple of moss beds were. "You should get some rest," she said coldly. "Unfortunately we won't be able to stay here forever and will probably have to move on sometime soon."

Feeling like she would never get anywhere with Dusk Cinderheart obeyed. She had asked a question that wasn't to be asked.

"You'll probably get some answers when you sleep," said Dusk quietly(or was it Dawn?) as Cinderheart placed her head on her paws. "Now that you know, the dreams of your past will come to you."

"Great," whispered Cinderheart. _"Please. Tell me more about Renella,"_ she begged her thoughts. _"How was she connected to Shadow? How did they meet? Please…tell me…"_


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12! Sorry for the long wait. College is crazy… And to make it up(kind of) here's a fun fact about the story! Names of characters are VERY important.**

_She slowly walked through the sunlit forest. It was a wonderful day today, the bird were chirping and the gentle sound of the wind rustling through the trees…lovely. That was the only thing it could be called. It was a lovely day after helping out the sick and injured all morning. Even if she was the Resurrected having a bit of time to herself was quite nice. She giggled slightly as she thought of how her guards would wonder where she had disappeared to. She hated to make them worry but she just wanted a bit of time to herself._

_Her eyes flicked to the sound of something crashing to the ground near her. Her eyes widen in surprise when she saw a tom cat lying on the ground. He was covered in his own blood, the stench of it drowning the flowers of the forest. His breathing was heavy and ragged, his eyes shut in pain._

_Out of pure instinct she approached the tom and held out her long red tail. When the tom didn't move to bite it she unsheathed her claws and pricked her tail so the blood was flowing before holding it under the tom's nose. The instinct for all cats kicked in and he immediately bit down on her tail. She didn't even flinch as she felt the teeth grating against her tail. She placed a paw on the tom's head as she watched as his injuries began to close up. "There there," she whispered gently. "It'll be alright. You'll live."_

_She felt his teeth release her tail and she pulled it away, the wound from her cut already healing. The tom stirred and she backed up a step to give him space as he opened his blue eyes. Well that was a rarity. A blue-eyed black-furred tom. "You are alright now," she spoke when he began looking around in confusion. "I healed your wounds for you."_

_He turned to her in surprise. "Why?" he asked. His blue eyes widen and he lowered his head. "Renella. Forgive me for not recognizing you."_

_"That's alright," she replied gently. "You were greatly injured. What injured you?" _

_"One of the monsters of the forest," he replied, his head still bowed. _

_"Oh?" Renella looked up into the trees. She casted out her senses but didn't feel anything for miles around them. "Well whatever it was, it's gone now. You can return home safely." She got to her paws. "Anyway, I am sorry but I must take my leave. My guards are probably frantic with worry about where I am."_

_"Renella! Where are you?" called a voice from nearby._

_She chuckled. "See what I mean?" She turned to the direction of the voice. "I'm over here Rae!"_

_"Renella!" scolded a dark brown tom with black streaks zigzagging his fur as he stepped into the clearing where she was. "That was reckless to go out on your own. I turn my back on you for one moment and this is what happens?"_

_"I'm sorry Rae," she purred as she tried to keep the amusement out of her voice. "I'll try to be better in the future."_

_He sighed and shook his head. "What am I to do with you?" He noticed the black tom standing there. "Oh? It looks like you met the newest member of our council."_

_"Oh?" Renella whirled around to face the black tom again. "You didn't tell me that."_

_"I'm sorry," he replied._

_"That's alright. What's your name?"_

_"His name is Agroa," said Rae. "Volos recommended him. Says he's a pretty powerful fighter."_

_"Really?" Renella chuckled. _

_"It took me by surprise," protested Agroa._

_"Sure," Renella said. "Let's just go with that."_

_Rae glanced back and forth between the two cats for a moment before speaking again. "Renella. It's almost time for the afternoon session. The cats are already lining up for your aid."_

_"Alright," said Renella. She turned back to Agroa. "I know it's a bit late but welcome to the council."_

Linelinelineline

Cinderheart cracked open her eyes. "Shadow!" she exclaimed in surprise. The tom was sitting up and grooming his fur to remove all the blood that was caked on it. It was a huge change since last night.

"So you finally woke up," said Dawn. The she-cat pushed a rabbit over to Cinderheart. "We were deciding on whether waking you up was a good thing to do or not."

"Thanks," said Cinderheart as she took the rabbit and began to eat. She didn't feel dizzy anymore so that was a good thing. "Should you be walking around?" she asked Shadow.

"I'm fine," he replied. "From what Dawn told me, she's told you what you are."

Cinderheart nodded. "Yes. I'm the Resurrected. I can heal cats with my blood. And that the council are after me."

Shadow nodded. "Dawn, I'm going to do a patrol of the area to see if it's safe to move on. They may not know about this safe area but I want to be sure."

Dawn nodded. "Don't worry!" she said happily. "I'll take care of things here."

Shadow looked back at Cinderheart once before slipping outside and then Cinderheart heard the beating of wings.

"So?" Dawn stepped closer to Cinderheart. "Did you have a dream last night?"

Cinderheart turned to Dawn. Well that was surprising. "Uh yes," she replied. "I dreamed about Renella. And meeting Shadow." She shivered as she thought she could feel his teeth on her tail. "But it was him but he had a different name. Agroa."

Dawn's face fell. "That was his old name. It would be best to not call him by that name."

"Why?" asked Cinderheart. She immediately wished she didn't ask for Dawn looked away.

"You'll know the more you remember," replied Dawn. "Just don't mention it to Shadow for now."

"Huh? Why?" Cinderheart thought Shadow would be happy to know that she was remembering Renella's life and him.

"It's complicated," replied Dawn. "Just trust me. It will be better if he didn't know for now."

"Alright then," replied Cinderheart with uncertainty. "Hang on. Why does Shadow have wings? Is that normal for this world?"

Dawn shook her head. "It's not. Shadow is actually-" She cut off and turned to the entrance as the beating of wings got closer and landed outside the cave.

Shadow hurried inside. "We need to leave now. They are already sending searches everywhere. It'll only be a matter of time until they find us."

"Where are we going to go?" asked Cinderheart. She didn't know much about this world.

"The desert," replied Shadow.

"You're crazy!" spat Dusk. "Nothing can live out there!"

"What choice do we have?" asked Shadow calmly. "The council will look for us everywhere. The desert is the only chance we have."

Dusk sighed. "I know."

Cinderheart look back and forth between Shadow and Dusk. She didn't know what to say.

"Come on," said Dusk to Cinderheart. "Let's be crazy and walk through the desert."

Linelinelineline

Damia growled and paced back and forth. She was sitting at the bottom of the gorge in the area of Welgaria. Aeron was nearby talking to one of the worker cats. On her other side Awena was talking quietly to Cherrykit. She hated this. Why was she stuck doing the dirty work? "This is Garner's job!" she hissed to herself.

"Ganer needs to see if they are in the area" spoke Aeron as he walked over to Damia. "That's why we were assigned to search through the area here. Plus we're leaving all the work to the lower workers. We aren't doing anything."

Damia glared at the brown tom. "I have to stay here," she replied crossly. "That's torturous enough for me." She turned her eyes to Awena. That she-cat smelled horrible. Doesn't she clean herself? How could she call herself a cat? "Especially with whom we have to hang around with."

Aeron purred in agreement. "But what are we going to do? Anyway you can have fun with Awena here while I go see if I can find something in Shadow's room."

Linelinelineline

Cinderheart swallowed slowly. The sun was beating down on her from overhead. Shadow was walking in front and Dusk was walking next to Cinderheart. The two still looked fine but Cinderheart was ready to collapse. They hadn't been traveling in the desert for long but it already felt like they were done for. The sun was too hot and sand went in all directions around them. This was insane. How could they live out here? Was there any chance they could make it to the other end of this desert alive?

"Hey," snapped Dusk. "Don't give up alright?" She slightly smacked Cinderheart on the head with her tail. "We'll get out of this fine."

"That's easy for you to say," replied Cinderheart. The sand felt like it was getting clogged up in her throat.

"Tell her Shadow!" Dusk snapped. "She's losing hope and-"

"Dusk. On guard."

All the thoughts of the heat fled Cinderheart when she saw cats appear out of behind the sand dunes. Their fur was coated in the sand, probably a way for them to hide. Dusk and Shadow stepped closer to Cinderheart and the she-cat wanted to snap at them that she could defend herself. She was trained as a warrior after all.

"Who are they?" Dusk hissed, her eyes darting back and forth.

Shadow didn't reply. He was just watching them carefully.

One of the sand colored cats stepped forward. Cinderheart saw with a shock that the cat's eyes were two different colors. A deep blue and a dark gray. "So," said the she-cat. "Where'd you come from and what you are doing in our domain?"

"You live out here?" Dusk laughed. "That sucks to be you."

The she-cat's expression darkened. "We can kill you right where you stand."

"Nadia," spoke one of the other cats. "Wait. We should think this through."

The she-cat, Nadia made a tsk sound before turning her attention back to the three cats. "Fine then. We'll just take you to our leader then he'll figure out what to do with you." Her eyes settled on Cinderheart. "Surround them," commanded Nadia. "Make sure they can't escape. Have many of you guard the tom." She then turned to Shadow. "I know you're dangerous, I can sense it, but we have cats everywhere. And some will be fast enough to get that gray she-cat there. Not much of a fighter is she?"

Cinderheart bristled at the remark but she forced herself to not get angry and show it. Nadia reminded her of ShadowClan. Always thinking she was better than everyone else.

"We won't do anything," said Shadow calmly but by the way he was watching Nadia, Cinderheart knew he was anything but.

"Good," replied Nadia. She began walking away with the many sand-colored cats flanking them on all sides. "Now come on."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13. Another fun fact about the story. Originally Cinderheart was going to be a normal cat and Cherrykit was going to be the Resurrected.**

Nadia led the three cats to a huge rocky hill. It was a weird sight in the middle of the flat desert. In the rocky hill were openings with ledges in front of them. Cats were using the ledges to get from one opening to the next. However all movement stopped when they saw Nadia approach with the three foreign cats in tow. Cinderheart shivered as the cats stared at them with eyes filled with distrust.

"Who are they Nadia?" asked a cat from a ledge.

"They look like they're from the council," spoke another.

"We should kill them!" cried another.

"I want to tear these cats apart," growled Dusk under her breath. "And then rip them apart some more."

"Quiet Dusk," replied Shadow. His blue eyes were traveling between the cats. Cinderheart figured he was gauging on if he could fight them or not. She didn't think so. Even if Shadow had any super-powers of some sort he would never be able to take down all of them.

"Nadia," a tom stepped out of one of the caves. The other cats fell into silence when he appeared Cinderheart figured he was probably the leader of the cats here. Unlike the other cats his fur was not the color of sand. It was a dark brown with black zig-zags running across his fur. A long scar ran down his closed right eye.

The tom's single eye flickered with emotions. Cinderheart saw Shadow and Dusk tense. Did they know each other? Cinderheart turned her attention back to the cat. It suddenly hit her who the cat was. "Rae!" she exclaimed.

The tom looked over at her in surprise. Nadia did the same along with all of the cats in the area. Shadow looked back at her in surprise. Dusk was the only one who didn't.

The tom jumped down from the ledge until he was before the three cats. "How do you know that name?" he asked. He glared at Shadow.

Cinderheart gulped. Did she do something bad? Well there was nothing she could do about it now. If she was right, this cat could be trusted. "You, you're Rae. You're the leader of my-Renella's guards. You made sure nothing happened to her." Other memories of Rae filled her mind. She pointed with her tail to Nadia. "She's your daughter. Your mate…" Cinderheart trailed off. "I'm sorry. She died against one of the monsters. She shook her head sadly. "And you get really upset if Renella wanders off for too long because you're worried about her and-"

"How do you know these things?" growled Rae. Nadia was staring at Cinderheart in shock. The rest of the group of cats seemed to be doing the same. He took a step towards Cinderheart. Shadow stepped in front of her as if to protect her.

"She's the Resurrected you idiot!" snapped Dusk angrily. "Of course she would know everything!"

Rae froze in his tracks. He stared at Cinderheart as if he had never seen anything like her before. "It can't be," he whispered.

"Believe it," snapped Dusk. "We were being chased by the council so we fled out here. Cinderheart is from the other world. That's where the Ressurcted's soul ended up after Renella…" Dusk trailed off and glanced at Shadow.

"The other world," whispered Rae. He shook his head. "Nadia. Bring Kara here."

"But…" Nadia glanced between her father and the three cats.

"Just do it," snapped Rae.

Nadia nodded and hurried to the caves. She came back a while later with a she-cat in tow. Cinderheart almost recoiled back from the stench of the she-cat. The she-cat's black fur was coated in a sticky substance in many places. Her eyes were unfocused.

"That's…" began Shadow.

"Yes," replied Rae. He gestured for Cinderheart to step forward. "Heal her."

Cinderheart glanced over at Rae and then at the she-cat. She knew she had to prove that she was the Resurrected but all of her instincts told her to run away from the poor cat.

"You're going to need to draw blood first," said Dusk. "Just like you did with Shadow. Kara won't be able to do it herself. She's from the other world," added Dusk when Rae glared at her. "The Resurrected doesn't exist there."

Cinderheart swallowed and walked up to the sick she-cat. She took in a shaky breath; the stench from whatever was on the she-cat was overwhelming her senses. She unsheathed her claws and lifted her tail. She took a deep breath before cutting her tail until the blood was flowing before sticking it under the she-cat's nose. Immediately the she-cat's mouth opened and her jaw clamped around Cinderheart's tail. The gray she-cat fur stood on end as Kara sucked away at her blood. She dug her claws into the sandy ground and she gritted her teeth. It felt weird. Unlike with Shadow, this felt unnatural. It felt wrong. Like she couldn't give this she-cat her blood in the first place.

"You're going to kill her!" Shadow roared angrily.

"Nadia. Get Kara off her."

Cinderheart felt the pressure disappear from her tail and she collapsed on the sand. She felt dizzy and sick. She saw Rae standing over her. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I just wanted to make sure." He seemed sad. "You will be fine in a little bit. Nadia. Take Cinderheart to the healers. I'm going to have a talk with Agroa." That was the last thing Cinderheart remembered before darkness took her.

Linelinelineline

"You didn't have to go so far," growled Shadow angrily.

The two toms stepped into Rae's den. It was sparse. It was pretty much a rock cave with nothing in it. Shadow wasn't too surprised about that. It was the desert after all. Shadow had commanded Dusk to stay with Cinderheart. Even if Rae used to be a part of Renella's guard, he didn't know what Rae would do.

"I needed to make sure," replied Rae calmly. He glared at Shadow with his remaining eye. "Plus who are you to speak about that?"

Shadow looked away.

Rae sighed. "Agroa-"

"Call me Shadow. I do not go by Agroa anymore."

Rae blinked. He shook his head. "You will always be Agroa to me. What happened?" His expression turned cold. "Here I thought you became the council's lackey but then you pop up here out of nowhere with the Resurrected in tow and the council is after you. What happened and don't you dare leave anything out."

Shadow took a deep breath and told his story. About how the council had found a lead that the Resurrected was in the other world. He talked about how he found a she-cat who might be her and brought her back to Welgaria. He talked about how the council found out and launched an attack against them. And how they ended up out here in the desert.

Rae growled angrily. "The council," he spat. "I can't believe I used to be a part of that."

Shadow didn't respond.

"All the cats here Shadow. They are the kits of the members like me. The ones who didn't want to accept the new council." He stared at Shadow angrily.

Shadow knew what he was thinking about. If he closed his eyes he could smell the scent of blood in the air. The sounds of screams from cats. "This is a resistance," Shadow said calmly. "Against the council."

Rae didn't respond. He just watched Shadow carefully. "What choice are you going to make this time."

Shadow looked up at Rae in surprise.

"We all know in case you forgot. All of the members of the old council knew," said Rae coldly. "I'm the only one that's still alive."

Shadow swallowed. For probably the first time in a long time he looked scared.

"I don't know what happened," said Rae coldly. "But I can never forgive you for what you did." He walked past Shadow to the entrance of the cave. "But for her sake I will put up with you."

Linelinelineline

Cinderheart cracked open her eyes. She felt like a dog had ripped her apart.

"Thank goodness you're awake," said Dawn. "I was so worried about you."

Cinderheart slowly sat up. Nadia was nearby. She looked guilty.

"What happened?" croaked Cinderheart. Dawn pulled over a piece of moss with water. Cinderheart lapped the water up gratefully before speaking again. "What was that cat?"

"Kara, the she-cat was inflicted by an illness that you cannot cure," Dawn explained. "Your instincts were telling you to get away from her weren't they?"

"It felt wrong to have her drink my blood. Unlike with Shadow."

Dawn nodded. "Yes. He was testing you. Rae was watching your reaction. It was obvious you didn't want to do it but you did. Just like Renella."

Cinderheart perked up at the mention of her past self. "She did it too?"

"She would try to heal them. Never succeeded but she tried."

"What was that illness?" asked Cinderheart.

"It's a common one out here in the desert," Nadia spoke up. She flinched as the two she-cats looked at her. "It will heal by itself in a couple of days but the process cannot be sped up."

Cinderheart had a strange feeling she heard of this illness before. A memory ran through her head. Of Renella doing the same thing she did.

"I'm sorry," whispered Nadia. "I didn't know you were the Resurrected." She shook her head. "You probably don't remember me besides being my father's kit but-"

"I remember playing with you," said Cinderheart. "You were…seven moons I think?"

Nadia looked up at Cinderheart in surprise. "You remember me?"

"I don't remember much," admitted Cinderheart. "But I remember that."

She perked up as Rae walked into the cave. Dawn watched him carefully. Nadia stepped to the side so Rae could walk over to Cinderheart without trouble.

"I'm sorry for what I did. I just needed to make sure," he lowered himself into a low bow. "My life is yours." He got up. "I need to speak with her alone." His attention was directed onto Dawn as he said this. "I will not do anything to harm her," he reassured.

"She doesn't remember much," said Dawn. The way she said it seemed to be implying something. Cinderheart wasn't sure what though.

"I know. I spoke to Agroa about it. He's outside."

Dawn didn't say anything in reply to that. She left the cave with Nadia in tow.

Cinderheart knew Rae wouldn't hurt her. He was devoted to making sure Renella was never hurt. But she wasn't Renella. Maybe she should rethink that. Maybe he would hurt her.

"Relax," said Rae. He sat down across from her. "I have a question. Do you remember your death as Renella?"

"Kind of," replied Cinderheart. "I remember I was killed by something huge when I almost made it to the portal to the other world." She shivered as she remembered the claws raking through her fur. That mad look in those eyes.

"That's it?" asked Rae.

Cinderheart nodded. "Why?" She perked up. "Do you know more?" She really wanted to know what Renella was talking about when she died. Something about trusting the thing that killed her. Did that mean Renella knew whoever it was before?

"So that is all…" Rae shook his head. "Anyway. Shadow has told me about your situation. And I think we can help you."

"Help me with what?" asked Cinderheart.

"Help you go back to your world."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14.**

Cinderheart wasn't sure she heard correctly. She played over what Rae had said to her again. "You can help me return?" she whispered.

Rae nodded. "It will be safer for you in the other world than here," he said.

"But they can cross as well," replied Cinderheart. She shivered at the thought of these monster cats running around the clans. ThunderClan would be doomed!

Rae shook his head. "Only for a limited time. You see, the bridge between the two worlds is only open for a certain time. After the time it is closed for a long time before it can be opened again. Why do you think no one has searched for you in the other world before?"

Cinderheart blinked. Could it really be possible for her to return? Her thoughts ran to a certain golden tabby. She would be able to see him again. She would be able to see everycat again.

"So?" asked Rae. "We'll take you there and protect the portal until the time is up and no one can chase you."

Cinderheart looked up at the striped tom and nodded. "Yes. I would like to return. But," she added quickly as Rae was about to speak again. "I cannot leave without Cherrykit."

Rae was silent. It was like he couldn't believe what Cinderheart was saying. "Cherrykit. That's the death seer right? Shadow spoke about her." He stared at Cinderheart sadly. "Cinderheart," he said gently. "The chance of her being the niece that you know is gone. She's a pawn of the council now."

Cinderheart's fur bristled angrily. She took a step towards Rae. The tom took a step back and real fear flashed in his eyes. In the back of her mind she found this odd but she was too furious to care. "Cherrykit is my niece. I promised Poppyfrost I would look after her. I failed to protect her before." She grimaced at the thought of the poor kit getting raped. "I will protect her now." Her blue eyes blazed. "I will save her from the council."

Rae didn't say anything. He just walked out of the den. Cinderheart sucked in a deep breath. She couldn't believe what just happened.

"Hey Cinderheart," Dawn walked into the den. The black and white cat looked the gray she-cat over in concern. "You okay?"

Cinderheart shook her head. "I want to save Cherrykit."

Dawn nodded. "I understand. I'll speak to Shadow about it. Maybe there is something we could do."

Cinderheart placed her tail on Dawn's shoulder. "Thanks Dawn."

Linelinelineline

Damia made her way down the long stone tunnel. Like always her long silver fur was groomed to perfection. It looked nothing like the frazzled appearance she had back in Welgaria. She was now a poised proud she-cat. Well that was what she was externally. Internally she was an annoyed mess. Why was she was one that had to go report to him? Why couldn't Aeron go? She hated having to deal with him without help. Plus it didn't help that they weren't able to find Shadow and the Resurrected.

_"Stupid tom. Why couldn't you just sit still? You're causing us way more trouble than you're worth."_

The she-cat perked up as the tunnel opened up to a huge circular room. Glowing moss covered the walls and gave the room a very unnatural look to it. Inlets were carved in walls to give cats places to sit. On a good day the council members would sit here to discuss matters.

This was not one of those days.

Only a single cat sat in the room. The cat looked down at Damia as she entered. "So?" he asked.

"We were unable to find him," the she-cat lowered herself to almost the ground. She may have to bow down to this cat but she still had some pride left. "Him or the Resurrected." She lifted her head but made sure to keep her eyes away from his. "However we are looking. We will find him and bring him back. Alive as you wishd."

"Make sure to bring the Resurrected back alive as well," said the tom. His paws kicked the small rocks as he began to pace. "We need to control where the soul ends up next. The current one is useless to us."

Damia dipped her head. "Of course. We will bring her as well. Plus we will be able to make her comply easily once we find her." Damia had seen how the Resurrected had reacted to the Death Seer. It was obvious that she knew and cared for the kit. That was Damia's trump card.

"I hope you do," he said before turning away.

Taking the signal to leave, Damia dipped her head to him before walking out of there as fast as she could without seeming disrespectful. Once she was out in the tunnel she sighed in relief. She hated having to deal with him. He was just too intimidating for his own good.

"You better come out Shadow," she hissed to herself. "Or I will tear you apart but keep you alive so he can have his way with you."

Linelinelinelineline

_Renella made her way carefully through the small path carved between long rows of thorny plants. "Come on," she purred to Agroa who was following her from behind. "Don't be so slow!"_

_ "Slow down," replied the tom. Concern was laced in his voice. "You don't want to poke an eye out."_

_ "I've been on this path plenty of times!" laughed Renella. "I'll be fine." As if to prove it she broke into a run. She could hear Agroa's cry of protest behind her. She ignored it though. She knew she would be fine. Soon the thorny plants opened up to a huge lake. She stepped to the edge and waited for Agroa to catch up to her. "Took you long enough," she teased when he finally broke out of the thorny tunnel._

_ The tom's blue eyes wide in shock as he gazed at the huge lake before them. "I didn't know this was here."_

_ Renella purred in amusement. "Of course you knew it was here. You just didn't know where it was." She gazed out to the far bank of the lake. Even if she couldn't see it she knew it was surrounded on all sides by the thorny plants. The path that they had taken was one of the few places that would take a cat to the lake. _

_ Agroa stepped up until he was next to Renella. "What do you mean?" he asked. "I never heard of a lake…" He trailed off. _

_ "That's right," purred Renella. She leaned against the tom. "This is the lake that is connected to the other world. And in a few days the portal will be open. Although, it will only be open for one night though." Her blue eyes sparkled with excitement. "Won't it be interesting to see the other world?" She stepped into the lake water and kept walking until the water was halfway up her legs. She turned around to Agroa who was waiting on the bank. "I want to see what's on that side. I want to know if there are cats there like us!"_

_ "Renella," reminded Agroa gently. "You can't go. Your duty is to stay here. Plus what if the portal closes while you're over there? You will be stuck there until it opens again. It would be better to go when the portal will be open for a couple of days."_

_ Renella sighed. "I know. It's just…" The red-pelted she-cat turned her head to look at the center of the lake. The way to cross was to swim to the bottom of the lake and then something was supposed to happen. "I just want to know what it's like over there. I want to know how those cats live-if there are any. And I want to know how it's like to live without cats knowing who I am."_

_ "Renella," Agroa whispered softly in her ear. _

_Renella jumped in shock and whirled around to face the tom. "Seriously," she laughed. "I don't know how you can do that." She looked down at his submerged paws. "How can you walk without making any noise?"_

"_It's a gift of mine," replied Agroa._

_Renella purred in amusement. "Of course." A humorous glint crossed her eyes. She lightly smacked Shadow on the head and broke into a run to the shoreline. "You can't catch me!" she yowled._

_However as soon as her paws into the dry earth she could feel Agroa's presence next to her. "Honestly," she sighed as she sat down on the dry ground. "It's like you're a shadow. Always silent and following."_

"_Well it is my job to watch over you," replied Agroa. He sat down next to her and wrapped his tail around her shoulders._

"_Well you are more than a bodyguard to me," purred Renella as she leaned against him. _

_The two silently looked out at the lake. The sunlight reflected off the water in beautiful sparkles. Dragonflies and other bugs hung around over the crystal clear water. Birds sang in the trees overhead. It was so peaceful. Renella remembered all the times after their first meeting. Rae had assigned him to a different job. However all the times the two cats were in the same area they would give each other glances. In the end Renella asked Rae to make Agroa her bodyguard and well their relationship has taken off ever since._

"_So, tell me about your family," whispered Renella._

"_There's not much to tell," replied Agroa. _

"_Do you have any siblings?" Renella looked up at the tom she cared so much about._

"_A brother," replied Shadow. _

"_That's nice," said Renella softly. "I wish I had siblings." The she-cat fell silent. Her mother had died during the kit-birth of Renella's younger siblings. Unfortunately neither her mother nor the kits lived. If only Renella knew about her mother giving birth. She would have rushed back to save her. "Promise me that I'll get to meet your brother someday."_

"_Of course," purred Agroa._

Linelinelineline

Cinderheart opened her eyes and slowly got to her paws. The scent of herbs was thick in the air. After Dawn had left to speak with Shadow, the she-cat had settled down to take a nap. And well, she got a major memory return out of it.

She thought it over and felt her fur grow hot. She was…intimate with Shadow. And from how it seemed they were probably mates.

"You're awake."

Cinderheart flinched and jumped back. "Oh. Shadow," she said. She averted her eyes away from him. Well this was awkward.

"We spoke to Rae and after some discussing he is going to help us get Cherrykit back."

"Really!" cried Cinderheart in excitement. The thoughts of Renella's relationship with Shadow was shoved to the back of her mind.

Shadow nodded. "He is currently speaking to other members of resistance here to create a plan. A couple of cats are on surveillance to find her. Unfortunately, you will have to participate in the mission as well. Cherrykit's mind is not the same as it was before. You are the only one who can probably bring her back."

"I don't care," said Cinderheart. "I'll take any risk to bring her back." She thought of Poppyfrost. Her sister had been counting on her to take care of the kit. She may have failed once but not anymore.

"The meeting is going to take place outside," said Shadow. "We are waiting for you."

Cinderheart took a deep breath. "Alright," she said as she headed for the cave entrance. This time she would save Cherrykit.


	15. Chapter 15

**Here is chapter 15 for everyone.**

When Cinderheart stepped out into the hot desert heat everycat in the shade of the huge rock structure turned to her. Rae was in the center of a circle of cats and Nadia stood next to him. Her blue and gray eyes flashed with some emotion that Cinderheart couldn't figure out.

"We were waiting for you," spoke Rae. He gestured for her to join him in the middle. Cinderheart took a deep breath before joining Rae while Shadow stayed as a part of the circle. Rae placed his tail on Cinderheart's shoulder and spoke, "This is the Resurrected, the one that all of your parents or grandparents vowed to protect." His single eye fell on Dawn and Shadow but he didn't say anything else.

Cinderheart set her eyes to the sandy ground as the eyes of the rebel cats fell on her. Well this was uncomfortable. She heard the sound of shifting sand and she looked up to see all of the cats bowing low to the ground in front of her. She looked around in surprise. Even Shadow and Dawn were doing it.

"What?" she whispered.

Rae lifted his body and focused his attention on her. "You are the Resurrected. These cats that are standing before you now have vowed to protect you and serve you."

"What!" cried Cinderheart.

"Like I said Cinderheart, these cats are descendants of the old council that have sworn their life to follow only the Resurrected. With you here they-we all have a purpose again," Rae stepped in front of Cinderheart. "These cats will obey you. The Resurrected was a leader to us."

A leader? Cinderheart was a leader now? That was strange to think about. Back in the clans she had a dream of become leader of ThunderClan. She never thought she would get her chance here in this world. No. She wasn't ready yet for this. "I can't lead," she said quickly. She shook her head. "I'm not ready for something like this. Plus I…I don't want to risk all of your lives for me."

Rae shook his head. "Cinderheart. That's why the council originally existed. To protect you. Don't worry about us." He turned his attention back to the cats in the circle. "Alright. Our goal is to get Cinderheart here to the portal to the other world and guard it until it is closed. However, that isn't our only goal. We also need to get Cherrykit back as well. I've already sent out scouts to figure out the kit's location. After that we'll move out. Nadia, Amatus, Shadow, Dusk and I will be with Cinderheart at all times. I want section one to be the decoy while we go in to retrieve Cherrykit. Section two is on standby in case anything goes wrong. Section three will wait by the lake. Everycat, be ready to leave soon."

With those final words the cats in the circle dispersed to do whatever needed to be done. Shadow and Dawn walked over to Cinderheart.

"Don't worry," said Dawn. Her eyes sparkled with excitement. "We'll make sure to bring Cherrykit back."

Cinderheart nodded. She trusted these cats. They would help her out as much as they could. She turned to Nadia who was walking over to the three cats with a tom in tow. The tom's fur was sand-colored like all of the other cats here. Hang on. Cinderheart just realized something. The sand color on them was not the actual fur color. It was mud? No, that wasn't mud. Paint. That was the word she was looking for. With that thought some other information entered her mind. The paint was made from a certain plant's leaves that were crushed. Then it was slathered and dried on the fur of cats. Camouflage. That was what it was used for.

"This is Amatus," said Nadia. Amatus dipped his head to Cinderheart. "He'll be the last member on our team."

"It's an honor to meet and serve the Resurrected," he said. His eyes flitted over Shadow for a moment before returning to Cinderheart. "I promise that we'll get Cherrykit back."

"Thanks," whispered Cinderheart. "But I really don't want to put you all in danger like this."

"We have lived for this," replied Amatus. He placed his tail on the gray she-cat's shoulder. "Don't worry about us. You've finally given us a purpose." He removed his tail from her shoulder and turned to look out in the distance. "Ah, looks like they have returned."

Linelinelineline

Aeron stepped out of a tunnel and found himself back in the main ravine area. He sighed. Honestly, this place was like a maze. He couldn't figure out how to go anywhere. Hearing a half-crazy laugh Aeron saw Awena in the middle of the open area. "You lose again," called the grimy she-cat.

"Well, this is only my second time within Welgaria," replied the tom lightly. He looked around but didn't see a certain ginger purple-eyed kit anywhere. "Where is Cherrykit?" he asked Awena.

The old she-cat laughed again. "You worried that she regained her sanity and tried to run away?"

Aeron's eyes narrowed. "Well, did she?"

Awena's extremely light purple eyes glinted with crazy happiness. "Wouldn't that be interesting? But," she added when Aeron took a step towards her. "Unfortunately not." She shifted to the side so Aeron could see the small kit that was sitting on the ground. She was staring down blankly at the ground. No. She was actually staring at a trail of ants as they walked by.

"Good," replied Aeron curtly. He turned to head down another tunnel to try his luck to see where that went but before he did, he said to Awena, "When Damia returns, there is a chance that your services will no longer be needed. If you value the short pitiful life you have left I would suggest getting out of here."

"But her training isn't complete yet," replied Awena, a sense of urgency in her voice.

"We have all the power we need of her already," said Aeron. "None more is needed." With that he disappeared into the tunnel.

Awena on the other paw was disgusted. She looked down at Cherrykit who was watching the ants walk by. She knew what Cherrykit was trying to do but her training was not complete. The council didn't know how much power a death seer had. It wasn't just the ability to know how long a cat had to live. If Cherrykit wasn't fully trained then there was a chance that she could…

No. Maybe it was for the best that she wasn't fully trained. Her suffering would be less than what she would have to go through if she had all of her powers. Yes. This was for the best. "Cherrykit," she whispered. "You won't know your true power at all will you?" She stiffened, her old bones creaking as her eyes widen to almost impossible levels. A strangled cry came out of her throat and her old blunt claws dug into the ground as a vision slashed through her mind.

Cherrykit looked up at her. She blinked for a moment before returning her attention to the trail of ants.

As fast as the vision came it left Awena's mind. The she-cat's chest heaved in and out, her light purple eyes wide. She noticed a couple of the lesser council member's eyeing her from their work but they gave her a wide berth. She was grateful for that.

The dirty she-cat went over the vision in her mind and glanced over at Cherrykit. "Well," she whispered softly. "There is hope for you after all." She looked up into the sun shining sky overhead. "Let's see what the future brings," she whispered.

Linelinelineline

The moon's light filtered through the trees. Cinderheart's pawsteps were light and quick as she followed Rae through the forest. Nadia and Dusk flanked her on either side while Shadow and Amatus were in the back.

"Wow," whispered Nadia. "You're so quiet."

"It was training back in ThunderClan," replied Cinderheart. "I learned how to walk through the forest without making a sound." Of course a ThunderClanner would never be as good as a ShadowClan cat at walking through the shadows but she was pretty good at it.

"Shhh," snapped Rae from ahead when the top of Welgaria came into view.

Cinderheart fell silent and followed Rae through the forest. While they were walking different memories flashed through her mind. Memories of Renella coming here to calm herself. Her coming here to heal cats. Her coming here with Shadow-no Agroa.

Cinderheart's fur grew hot and she pushed herself out of her memories. That was not something she wanted to remember right now on an important mission.

Rae stopped and seemed to be looking for something in the sky. His ears flicked as he listened for something. "Alright," he said after a few moments. "Come on."

With that Rae broke into a run. Cinderheart followed him as quickly as she could. Welgaria got bigger and bigger as they got closer until she could see the base of the mountain. They entered a small tunnel in the side and began running through the tunnels while turning left and right until they came out into the huge opening from Cinderheart's first night here.

The six cats walked to the center. Rae froze in his tracks, his eyes widening in shock.

"What is it Father?" asked Nadia.

"Shadow," said Rae in a low voice.

The black tom stepped forward while his blue eyes scanned the dark shadows. "I know," he replied. "Dusk. Take them down the second mine route. Do not stop."

Dusk was about to say something but she seemed to sense whatever Rae and Shadow did and she nodded instead. "Come on," she whispered softly as she led the way to one of the tunnel holes in the wall.

As soon as the four cats' paws were inside Dusk broke into a run. Yowls echoed from behind as well as scream of pain. Nadia looked behind as they made their way down the tunnel.

"Don't look back Nadia," said Amatus sternly.

"I know," said the she-cat. "I know."

Cinderheart on the other paw was worried for the two toms. _"Shadow, you better be alive after this."_ Somehow, in her mind she knew he would still be alive. Rae on the other paw…

No. She couldn't think like that. They both will live. She knew it. She knew it would happen.

Dusk slowed to a stop as the tunnel opened into a wide cavern. Beautiful jewels encrusted the walls. However Cinderheart could not stop to gaze at them. Her focus was on a ginger she-cat on the other end of the room and a stocky brown tom that stood in front of her.

"Aeron," spat Dusk.


	16. Chapter 16

**Here's chapter 16! I just finished Night Whispers and went, "HUH!" That book although stuff happened was not worth a half a year of waiting. Plus while reading it I kept forgetting that Shadow doesn't exist and kept telling Lionblaze to get away from Cinderheart. And the fact that Cherrykit was a weak kit also threw me in for a loop. Anyway, I'm done ranting about Night Whispers. Enjoy a bloody chapter of Dancing Shadows and Hidden Hearts!**

Dusk slid herself between Cinderheart and the stocky brown tom she referred to as Aeron. Amatus and Nadia followed suit until they were a wall between Cinderheart and the council member. Cinderheart felt a twinge of annoyance. She was not a kit that needed to be protected. She was a warrior!

"We'll distract him," said Amatus in a low voice. "You go after Cherrykit."

Cinderheart nodded. Like the other three her eyes were focused on Aeron. The brown tom was watching the group carefully. "You've come," he replied lightly. "I knew it would happen eventually." He placed a paw around Cherrykit and drew her closer to him.

Cinderheart dug her claws into the ground to avoid launching herself at him. They were going to save Cherrykit. She couldn't mess it up by letting her emotions get in the way.

"Let her go Aeron and you won't have to die," snapped Dusk.

"Sorry but I cannot do that," Aeron's eyes traveled to Cinderheart. "We need this death seer to find the new Resurrected."

Cinderheart shivered at the implication.

"You can try but we won't let you," spat Nadia. "We-the members of the Resistance and the descendants of the old council will protect her!"

Aeron just looked amused. "So you're the Resistance?" He chuckled. "I thought you would be much older. Whatever. That means it will be easier to kill you."

Memories flashed through Cinderheart's mind. She knew Aeron. He was a member of the old council. He was a young tom at the time. Like all of the other members of the council he was devoted to keeping her safe. If he was devoted then how did he become a member of the new council?

However before she got push for some answers Aeron pushed Cherrykit to the corner of the room and unsheathed his claws. "Well, enough dawdling," said Aeron before he attacked.

Linelinelineline

Shadow ducked as a paw swiped the spot where he had been a moment before. The large black tom lashed out with his own and with tremendous force the claws ripped through the cat's head leaving large gorges in the wake. He turned away from the cat as he fell to the ground.

Rae was a couple pawsteps away tangling with five cats at once. Even with a missing eye he was holding his own. Shadow wasn't surprised. Rae was the old leader of the council.

Shadow whirled around and swung a paw. The force threw the cat, that was jumping towards him, to the ground. He didn't even bother to check if the cat was dead. Instead he whirled around and latched his claws into the side of a cat. He curled his claws slightly and lifted the cat off the ground and used the body of the cat as a ram to hit some of the other ones out of his way before flinging his makeshift(and now dead) mace to the ground.

"Well this is fun," said Rae as Shadow ran up next to the brown tom to offer support. The two would strike out to anycat nearby but stayed close enough to be able to support the other. "I never thought I would be fighting alongside you again."

Shadow didn't say anything in reply in that. "I wonder how they got this many cats to join them."

"There are many ways to be persuasive," replied Rae lightly. A cat screamed in pain as Rae's claws caught him in the eyes. "But these are all the weak ones. They're trying to stop us by using numbers."

"Unfortunately that's what I figured as well," replied Shadow. His paws were getting slower now as he attacked any cat close to him. It wasn't because he was tired; it was the vast amount of blood that was caked into his fur.

"We should probably try to find a way to draw them away," said Rae. "Unlike you, I am not a monster that can go on forever."

Linelinelineline

Cinderheart stood next to Cherrykit. She stared down at her niece for the first time since coming to this crazy world. The ginger she-cat was looking at the ground. The only signal that she was alive was the slow blinking of her eyes. "Cherrykit," she whispered.

The gray she-cat looked over at Aeron battling Nadia, Dusk and Amatus. Even though Aeron was outnumbered he was holding his own again the three cats. It was like all of their attacks would just hit the spot where he was the moment before. Yes. Now Cinderheart remembered. Aeron had an uncanny ability to guess where the next attack would happen next and he was able to almost always dodge the attack.

Cinderheart returned her attention to Cherrykit. She had to hurry and snap the kit out of whatever has happened to her. "Cherrykit," whispered Cinderheart. "I'm here. It's me, your aunt Cinderheart. I…I'm sorry about what happen to you."

She heard a yowl of pain and Amatus cry of "Nadia!" This was bad. "Please Cherrykit!" she begged. She lowered her head until it was resting on the kit's head. "Please remember me. Remember the clans. ThunderClan, the clan you were born in. Your mother Poppyfrost. Your father Berrynose. Firestar, the leader. Even if you don't remember me, even if you hate me for what happened to you because of me I want you to go back to the Cherrykit you were before."

Suddenly having an idea she lifted her tail and pricked it until blood began to flow. "I don't know if my powers work in a situation like this but I can try right?" She placed her tail until Cherrykit's nose but unlike any of the cats here she did not bite down to suck Cinderheart's blood. "Come on Cherrykit," she whispered. "Please drink my blood."

"Cinderheart!"

Cinderheart looked up at Dusk's voice. She yowled as Aeron barreled into her and knocked her to the ground.

"Don't move!" yowled Aeron when Cinderheart's companions tried to come to her aid. He held his claws near Cinderheart's throat. "Or I'll kill her!"

"You can't kill her," snapped Dusk. "Otherwise you won't be able to control where the Resurrected spirit will go next." However she didn't move from where she was standing.

"You aren't convinced," said Aeron. He turned his attention to Cinderheart below him. She was glaring up at him. "Now, now, don't be like that."

Cinderheart could feel his claws lightly on her throat. Her mind raced to figure out what to do. Nothing was coming up. She was stuck under a member of the council.

"I would let her go."

Aeron's head snapped to the sound of the voice along with the rest of the cats in the room. "Cherrykit," whispered Cinderheart.

The ginger she-cat stood there with her paws apart. Her dark purple eyes were clear and determined. A spot of blood was on her muzzle. Cinderheart guessed her blood must have rubbed into Cherrykit's fur when Aeron had knocked her to the ground.

"Release Cinderheart right now," said Cherrykit.

"Oh?" Aeron said. "I have to release her? Why should I comply with that?"

"Because you will die," said Cherrykit simply. "And I don't want you splattering your blood over my aunt."

Aeron froze and stared at Cherrykit in shock. "What? I'm going to die?"

Cinderheart used the distraction to throw her weight upwards. Aeron was knocked to the ground. Dusk darted forward and she hooked her claws into Aeron's stomach and lifted her paw upwards. The tom yowled in pain.

"I told you so," replied Cherrykit. "You didn't listen to me."

Nadia and Amatus hurried over to the others. A long flank wound ran along Nadia's side and Amatus was favoring a paw. They weren't life threatening so that was a relief at least.

Cherrykit walked over to Cinderheart. "I'm sorry for causing you trouble," said the she-cat. She dipped her head to her aunt.

Cinderheart shook her head. She found it unnerving that Cherrykit was speaking in such an older cat's tone. However Cinderheart couldn't blame her. Cherrykit had to grow up quickly after what happened to her. "You are not to blame. It's all my fault. If I wasn't the Resurrected then you would have never been taken down here in the first place."

"This is nice and all," interjected Dusk. "But I think we should get out of here. In case you forgot Rae and Shadow are fighting a bunch of cats outside." The she-cat ran over to an opening in the back of the huge cavern. "This is a way out. We'll be able to get out of here quickly."

"Do you want me to heal you?" Cinderheart offered the two cats from the Resistance.

"We'll be fine for now," said Nadia. "We should focus on getting out of here first before treating our wounds."

Aeron coughed as his body fluids began to seep into the ground. His eyes focused on Cinderheart. "I may die here but I might as well exact a bit of revenge on you."

"What?" asked Cinderheart. She stopped and looked back at the dying tom.

Aeron chuckled slightly. "Shadow? The cat that you trust and care about? He's the one that killed you."


	17. Chapter 17

**Here's chapter 17. Some questions will be answered!**

Cinderheart stared at Aeron dumbly. "What?" she whispered. "He killed me?" She took a step towards Aeron. "He killed Renella?" However Aeron did not reply.

"He's dead," said Cherrykit. "I don't see his lifespan above his head anymore."

Cinderheart whirled away from her corpse, her attention now on Dusk. "Is it true? Did Shadow kill Renella?"

"We don't have time for this," spat Dusk. She gestured to the exit behind her. "We have to get going before Damia comes back with her crowd of cats."

"Answer me!" cried Cinderheart. "He did didn't he?"

"If you want the truth then search in your memories," replied Dusk coldly. "You have all the answers there. Now let's get out of here."

Nadia and Amatus traded glances before the two-eyed colored she-cat spoke, "Cinderheart? What do you want us to do?"

Cinderheart shook her head. "Don't worry about it," she replied. "I'll find out the truth soon enough. Right now we have to get out of here." She turned her attention to her niece. "This time we'll get out of here together."

Cherrykit seemed to hesitate for a moment before she nodded. With that thought the group of cats hurried out of the cave and into the side tunnel. Like all of the other tunnels in Welgaria it twisted back and forth as well as up and down. It seemed like they were walking in darkness forever.

However it wasn't long until moonlight could be seen through an opening. The tunnel broke out into a dense part of the forest. Dusk took the lead as they began running through the forest until they were a good distance away from Welgaria. "We'll wait here until Shadow and Rae catch up to us," said Dusk.

Nadia and Amatus sat down to give their wounded bodies a rest. Cinderheart walked over to them and held out her tail for them as an invite. They didn't need say anything in reply. She shivered as she felt two sets of teeth on her tail. While they were drinking enough blood to heal their wounds, Cinderheart turned to Dusk. "Will there be enough time for me to look through my memories?"

Dusk nodded. "It should be." She looked out into the distance. "However will you truly be happy with what you see?"

"I want to know the truth," replied Cinderheart. She pulled back her tail as she felt Nadia and Amatus let go.

"We thank you for healing us," Amatus dipped his head to Cinderheart.

Cinderheart shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Just rest while you can." She walked away from the two Resistance members.

"What will you do if it is true?" asked Cherrykit.

Cinderheart settled on the ground. "I don't know Cherrykit," she replied. "I don't know. But I have to know. If Shadow is the one that did it then he is responsible for bringing the Ressurected-my soul to the clans. And…he is responsible for what happened to you."

Cherrykit didn't say anything in reply. She stepped back. "Well, if you want to find out the truth then you better sleep."

Cinderheart nodded. She placed her head in her paws. At first her mind was racing too fast for her to even think about sleeping. However slowly sleep began to push at her conscious until she finally drifted off to sleep.

Linelinelineline

_Renella opened her eyes to someone poking her side. "Shadow?" she asked as she rubbed her eyes. When she focused on who poked her she blinked. "Rae? What's going on? Why did you wake me? It's the middle of the night."_

_ "Renella, you have to get out of here," said Rae. "You're in danger."_

_ "What are you talking about?" asked Renella. She froze as she heard an ear-splitting yowl come from somewhere close by. She turned her blue eyes to Rae. "What was that?"_

_ "We're being attacked," said Rae grimly. "We were betrayed. Someone wants to kill you. They want to possess the power of the Resurrected for themselves."_

_ "But that's impossible!" cried Renella as she jumped to her paws. "The power of the Resurrected belongs to no-one and everyone! How can somecat selfishly think they can control it?"_

_ Rae shook his head. "I don't know but you have to get out of here. The cats still loyal to you are trying to hold them off. You need to head to the lake and escape into the other world."_

_ "But..." whispered Renella, "what will you do without me? The portal is only open for a short period of time!"_

_ "Wait and live on the other side until it opens again. One of your loyal soldiers will come for you."_

_ Renella nodded. She turned to run in the direction of the lake but stopped and looked back at Rae. "Where's Shadow?"_

_ "He's on the front lines," replied Rae. "He's fighting for you so you can escape."_

_ Renella swallowed. "If he see him again. Tell him I'm waiting for him on the other side."_

_ "Of course," replied Rae. "Now go."_

_ Renella turned and ran. The trees were a blur as she made her way through the forest that was so comforting to her before. Now it was a shadow-malice filled one. She couldn't believe this was happening. Sure, in the lives of past Resurrecteds, situations like this have happened before. It usually always ended in the Resurrected's death. She shivered at the thought of it. Most died in brutal ways. Some screamed and begged for mercy while others faced their deaths head on. Which one would she be? Would she be a coward to the next Resurrected or a hero?_

_ No. She couldn't think like this. She was going to live. She was going to see Shadow again. Her pace quickened as she heard something crash to the ground behind her. She took a quick glance back and her heart leapt to her throat. There were cats chasing her! _

_ Did they guess that this would be the course of action she would take? Renella yowled in fear and ran faster. She had to get away. She had to live to see Shadow again! She heard the beating of wings and her heart hammered harder in her chest._

_ She entered the thorny tunnel and heard the sound of one of her pursuers scream in pain. She didn't dwell on the thought though. All of her thoughts were about crossing the portal. Soon she could see the moonlight ahead that signaled the end. She was almost there. She was almost free!_

_ Renella broke out of the thorny tunnel and the lake stood in front of her in full bright glory. She was there! Only a bit more and-_

_ She felt something land on top of her. The breath was knocked out of her and she struggled to regain it. No. The lake was right there. It was right in front of her! She reached out with a paw but she couldn't reach it. _

_ She shivered as claws, slowly and lightly, drag across her back, right over her spine. "No," she whispered. "No."_

_A yowl erupted from her mouth as those cruel claws shoved their way into her body. She scraped her claws across the ground, her breathing heavy as pain erupted throughout her body. She could feel those claws go through her organs like she would go through a mouse. With the last of her strength she twisted her head to see who her murderer was. Her blood turned cold. _

_It couldn't be. Why? Why would he kill her? Why would he want her dead? "Why?" she choked on her last breath. "You promised. You promised to never betray me. You promised…that…we…" She stared up into Agroa's blue eyes. The same blue eyes that looked at her so gently were now watching her coldly. The last thing she saw was those blue eyes. Watching her die with glee._

Linelineline

Cinderheart's eyes shot open. She was panting and she could feel the lingering sensation of the claws ripping through her body. Hearing a sound she looked up to see Rae and Shadow approaching. Everyone from Cinderheart's group greeted the two cats as they returned. Both sported many injuries on their body.

"Cinderheart," said Shadow. He walked over to her. "Are you alright?"

Cinderheart looked up at the cat. Those blue eyes. Those claws. She silently got to her paws before lashing out. Shadow jumped back but her claws did catch him on the chest and she was happy to see him bleeding from the fresh wound. "Murderer," she spat angrily. "Were you planning on killing me sometime soon?"

Shadow stared at Cinderheart in surprise. "What are you…" He trailed off. "Your memory."

Cinderheart nodded. "Yes. I remember the night. I remember it to the fullest. You…" She shivered. "You killed her. You killed Renella. You killed the cat that you loved! How could you do something like that?"

She turned away from Shadow. "Did you know?" she asked Dawn. "Did you?" she asked Rae. Rae looked away sadly while Dawn took a step towards Cinderheart.

"He didn't do it Cinderheart."

Cinderheart glared at the black and white she-cat. "I know what I saw. Shadow killed me. He ripped through my body! Don't deny it Dawn, I saw it! I lived it!" She looked down at Cherrkit. "Come on. Let's go."

Cinderheart walked over to Rae. "Why didn't you tell me? You knew as well!"

"Would you have believed me?" he asked. "Before you thought I was enemy." He shook his head. "You may not understand but as a member of the council, my duty was to serve you, not to tell you about your past life." He lifted his paw and held it gently over his missing eye. "I lost this eye trying to avenge your death. Anyway, let's not hang around here anymore. We should get going to the lake."

"Fine," replied Cinderheart. She knew that Rae meant well but still, he didn't tell her about something this big. She didn't look at Shadow and Dawn as she gently led her niece in following Rae.

"I'm sorry," said Nadia as she caught up to Cinderheart. "Amatus and I, we didn't know. If we did I would have told you, I mean-"

"Don't worry about it," Cinderheart said quickly. "I know that you didn't know. You and Amatus were surprised. I don't blame you."

"Alright then," said Nadia. She slipped back to walk next to Amatus. Cinderheart on the other paw turned her attention to Rae who was leading the way. She would get out of here. She will finally be able to leave this crazy world along with Cherrykit. She would finally be able to go home.

Linelinelineline

As soon as Damia entered Welgaria she could sense something was wrong. At first she couldn't tell exactly what it was but there was a heavy ominous feel to the air. She entered into the main open area of Welgaria and stopped in her tracks. Bodies of dead cats littered the ground, the stench overwhelming, almost gagging her.

"What in the world happened here?" she spat angrily as she made her way through the bodies. She could barely smell Aeron's scent through the bloody mess. "I'm going to teach that tom a lesson," she said angrily as she followed the scent into one of the other tunnels. It was then that she noticed other scents mixed in. "Shadow," she hissed. She broke into a run. She weaved in and out of the tunnels until she came upon one with huge gems encrusted into the walls.

"No…" she whispered as her eyes lay on the body in the center of the room. She took a step closer to the body and then another. "No…Aeron…" She stopped in front of the body and stared at it in utter shock. "No. No," she shook her head. "It can't be. You can't be dead."

Her face contorted as she raised her head. "You will pay Shadow," she hissed before leaving the tunnel and the body of Aeron.

Linelinelineline

Cinderheart stared out at the huge lake that was a part of many of her memories. It was beautiful in more ways than one and it felt like all of her troubles could be washed away by this lake. However her good mood was ruined when she spotted Shadow out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head away from the tom.

"All you need to do is swim to the bottom of the lake," explained Rae. "Then you have to swim up. You will be back in your world."

Cinderheart nodded and turned to Nadia and Amatus. "Thank you for helping me. I wouldn't have gotten this far without your help."

The two Resistance cats bowed low to Cinderheart. "We live to serve you," said Amatus.

"That is our duty," added Nadia.

Cinderheart ignored Shadow and Dawn. "Ready to go Cherrykit?"

The ginger she-cat looked up at Cinderheart with her brilliant purple eyes and shook her head. "No. I cannot go back."

"What?" Cinderheart stared down at her niece. "What are you talking about? Of course you can go back! We both can! We can both go back to the clans-together!"

"How can I go back?" asked the kit. She lifted her paw and gestured to her eyes. "I'm a death seer now. I can see the lives of cats above their heads. Do you think I want to know when my clanmates die?" She shook her head. "I don't. Plus I am worthless to the clans. I can never be a warrior."

"What are you talking about? Of course you can!" Cinderheart pushed. "You have the skills! You could defend ThunderClan!"

"I cannot go back and pretend like none of this happened. I am a death seer now. I have faced more suffering than probably Purdy and Mousefur ever did. I can't go back to the simple life of being a kit and then apprentice." She shook her head. "What I am now can never be in the clans."

Cinderheart couldn't believe it. Cherrykit wanted to stay here? She wanted to stay in this Dark Forest? "Cherrykit…"

"Tell Poppyfrost-tell my mother that I'm sorry that I couldn't become a brave warrior like she wished I would be," said Cherrykit softly before backing up. "Go. ThunderClan awaits for you."

Cinderheart turned away from her niece and stepped into the water. The water lapped against her paws, dragging her to the center. She didn't want to think about the cats watching her from the shoreline. She just wanted to get out of here. She just wanted to go home.

Soon the water was deep enough that Cinderheart had to swim to keep her head above. Once she was near the middle she sucked in a deep breath and dove underwater. She didn't think about it much but swam towards the bottom. When her paws touched it she thought she could feel a tremor but she wasn't sure if it was real or not. The only thought she had was that her lungs were starting to burn. Not able to stay underwater for much longer she swam to the surface and her head broke the surface. Cinderheart sucked in a few deep breaths before turning her attention to the shore. She gasped as she saw a huge collection of pine trees next to other types of trees. The scent carrying on the wind. She remembered this scent.

"I'm home," she whispered as she looked out at the territory of ThunderClan.


	18. Chapter 18

**Here is chapter 18, a super long chapter! The story is far from over guys! And since I began the story right after Fading Echoes just pretend that Night Whispers never happened. Well that one scene in Night Whispers involving Cinderheart and Lionblaze. You know the one.**

Cinderheart pulled herself out of the lake, the water clutching tightly to her fur. She took a couple deep breaths as she collapsed on the shore. The lake was a lot bigger than she thought it would be. However she was back. She was back the place where she truly belonged.

"Cinderheart? Oh StarClan! It is you!"

Cinderheart looked up at the voice. "Whitewing," she whispered.

The white she-cat hurried to Cinderheart's side. "You're-I mean-you're alive!" She was staring at Cinderheart intently like she wasn't sure if the gray she-cat would vanish before her eyes or not.

"Yes," whispered Cinderheart as she got to her paws. "I'm alive." She was slightly shaky so Whitewing went to her side and supported her. The two she-cats made it back into camp without incident.

As soon as Cinderheart stepped inside the camp was in an uproar. "Cinderheart!" Sorreltail ran to her kit's side and covered her in licks "What happened to you? When you didn't come back with Cherrykit…" The rest of her mother's words were drowned out as cats clamored around Cinderheart, all asking their own questions about what happened to her.

"Settle down everyone!" yowled Firestar from the top of the Highledge.

"Finally," murmured Jayfeather as he pushed his way through the cats. He sniffed Cinderheart over to check for injuries.

"I'm fine," she replied quickly.

"Cherrykit? Where's Cherrykit?" yowled Poppyfrost. The tortoise-shell she-cat's eyes were wide and her fur looked ragged and unkempt. Molekit was by her paws. The kit looked like he wanted to be anywhere but in the paws of his mother.

"She's sorry.." began Cinderheart. She paused. Could she really tell ThunderClan about what happened in the other world? What if the cats here wanted to go explore the other world? Those cats over there were nothing like the ones here. They would be killed in mere moments.

"She's sorry? For what?" screeched Poppyfrost.

"Calm down," snapped Jayfeather. "Cinderheart is probably going through shock. I want to treat her in my den alone for now. She can talk to you later."

Cinderheart was grateful to Jayfeather as he led her back to his den. "Where's Briarlight?" she asked when she noticed that the dark brown she-cat wasn't here.

"She's out exercising," said Jayfeather as he began gathering herbs from his store while Cinderheart settled down on a moss bed.

"Thyme," she whispered as Jayfeather brought the herb over to her.

Jayfeather didn't say anything in reply but returned to his stores.

Cinderheart didn't touch the thyme. Instead she stared at it for a few moments. "I wonder," she said out loud. "Was I a medicine cat before this?"

"How did you know?" spoke Jayfeather in surprise.

Cinderheart looked up in shock. Jayfeather's blind blue eyes gazed back at her. "Who was I?" Cinderheart jumped to her paws. "What was her name? What was she like?"

"What?" Leafpool stepped into the medicine cat den. Immediately Jayfeather stiffened. "What are you talking about?"

A name floated to the top of Cinderheart's brain. "Cinderpelt," she said simply. "I was a cat named Cinderpelt." Leafpool and Jayfeather stared at her as Cinderheart struggled to bring up more memories. "I was a medicine cat. I trained under Spottedleaf." Her eyes widen. "I was warrior apprentice but then my leg was broken because it was hit by a monster." She looked up. "You were my apprentice Leafpool and I died…oh StarClan…" She shivered. She died against the badger attack. She died protecting Sorreltail while she was having kits. She died to protect Cinderheart.

"How can you remember it?" whispered Leafpool. "StarClan said…"

Cinderheart lowered her head. There was only one reason why this happened. There was only one reason why she could remember this. It was the other world. By going there and finding out what she was, that caused her to remember this cat named Cinderpelt.

Wait.

After thinking this over for a bit and digging around for more memories the one before Cinderpelt was…Renella. How was that possible? Unless… "How long was I gone?" she asked.

"Two days," replied Jayfeather.

"Only two days," she whispered to herself. She had spent way more than two days in the other world. Could that mean that time moved faster in that world?

"Cinderheart!" Lionblaze ran in.

"Lionblaze," she whispered as the tom ran to her side. He covered her in licks.

"What happened?" he asked her.

Cinderheart shook her head. "You aren't going to believe me if I told you."

"Did loners do this?" growled Lionblaze. "We scented unfamiliar cats by the lake. Did you escape from them? What happened?"

Cinderheart's thought of Dawn and Shadow. She shook her head. No. She didn't want to think of them. He killed Renella. He killed her. There was no way she could forgive him for that.

"Let her rest for now," said Jayfeather. "We can continue the talk after you get some sleep." Lionblaze looked like he was going to protest but Jayfeather stopped him with a look.

Cinderheart was grateful to Jayfeather. She could use the time to figure out what she was going to say to the rest of the clan. She rested her head on her paws and began to think. However the whole ordeal of swimming to the bottom of the lake and out again was taking its toll on her and she fell into a deep sleep.

Linelinelineline

_"Come on Agroa!" yowled Renella. She bounced up and down on her paws as she waited for Agroa to catch up to her. This was her second time to the lake together with him. They were going to have a big gathering in two days and Renella knew she was going to be exhausted after that and she had to spend the whole day tomorrow increasing her blood count. So, that meant today was her last day to have some fun in a while._

_ Agroa stepped out of the thorny tunnel and he closed his eyes for a moment as the light reflecting off the lake momentarily blinding him. When he opened them again Renella was waiting for him under the tree they had talked under the first time they had come here._

_ "So," said Renella as he sat down next to her. She leaned her head on his side. "Tell me more about your brother. I'm going to be able to meet him soon right?" She purred. "I bet he'll never believe that his brother is going to be mates with the Resurrected." She chuckled to herself although it wasn't funny. Being mates with the Resurrected was risky. Cats who wanted to use her powers for themselves could take Shadow hostage to make her do whatever they wanted her to do. Plus there was the little fact that the Resurrected usually died in a gruesome way. Renella had given up on trying to find all the past lives where the Resurrected end up happy in death. They were just too far and few in between. Having to deal with all the torture deaths in between, having to live through them again was too much for her._

_ Agroa chuckled as well. "He would never believe it. He would wonder what I did in order for something like that to happen."_

_ Renella laughed. "Well you did a lot, that's for sure. Anyway, tell me more about it. I want to know enough about him that when I meet him during the big event in two days."_

_ "Well, the best way to describe him is well, he's like me."_

_ "Like you huh?" purred Renella. "Then I'll probably love him as well. You better hope I don't fall for him."_

_ Agroa purred. "Well, I hope not," he wrapped his tail around Renella. _

_ "Don't worry," she replied. "You're the only one for me." She looked up into his blue eyes. "No matter what happens we will be together."_

Lunelineline

Cinderheart's eyes snapped open and she lifted her head. What in the name of StarClan? She didn't want to remember Shadow anymore! She didn't want to remember that life! Looking around the medicine cat den she saw that Jayfeather was asleep nearby as well as Briarlight. Not really thinking about it Cinderheart got to her paws and walked over to the crippled she cat.

She lifted her tail and dug her claws into it until blood was drawn. She then placed her tail under Briarlight's nose. The she-cat's nose crinkled in disgust but the she-cat didn't clamp her teeth around the tail. "Sorry Briarlight," she whispered.

Cinderheart lifted her tail until the blood dripped down onto Briarlight's muzzle. The she-cat groaned and her tongue darted out and bits of the blood entered her mouth.

"What am I doing?" whispered Cinderheart. She backed away from Briarlight and hurried out of Jayfeather's den. Outside the camp was quiet. Only the sounds of the night life showed that there was even something still alive.

Looking around the camp, it reminded Cinderheart of the huge gorge back in Welgaria. The cries of the first night, the way her and her friends were surrounded when the council attack. Her friends? No. They were not her friends. They were liars. She shook her head. No. She couldn't take this.

Cinderheart hurried out of camp and into the forest. The nightlife was gentle. Even the thick shadows here in the forest were nothing compared to the forest of the other world. There were monsters there. Huge ones that could kill cats with ease.

Why? Why was she thinking about it? She didn't want to remember that world. She wanted to move on, to live here.

"Cinderheart?"

Cinderheart turned to the voice. "Lionblaze," she whispered.

The tom stepped out of the shadows. "I saw you leave camp," he said quietly. "I thought you might leave again."

Cinderheart shook her head. "No. I just need to think. A lot of things happened to me and…" She shook her head. "No, don't worry about it."

Lionblaze walked to Cinderheart's side. Before she knew it both cats were on the ground and Lionblaze was licking Cinderheart's fur.

_"This is what I wanted,"_ she thought to herself as she pushed her thoughts away to focus all of her attention on Lionblaze. _"This is what I wished for before."_ She shifted her position. _"This is what I came back for. To be with him."_

However no matter how much she tried she couldn't get the image of Shadow out of her mind. Why? Why did he have to kill her? Hang on. It didn't make sense. If he wanted her dead then why did he protect Cinderheart? Why did he go to such lengths for her? Why did he hide her from the council? Why? Why did he do all of this for her?

Cinderheart got to her paws. She looked over at Lionblaze who was looking at her in confusion. "What's wrong? You want to wait a while longer?"

Cinderheart shook her head. "It's not that…I…" She lowered her head. "I need to know his reasons. I need to know why he protected me but killed her."

"What?" asked Lionblaze. "Whose 'he'? Was he your captor?"

Cinderheart looked up at Lionblaze. She had a weird feeling that there was something not right about him either. She had a feeling that she should fear whatever was wrong with Lionblaze but she didn't. She had went through the Dark Forest and back. She had relived the death of some of the previous Resurrected. "He was the one who saved me," she replied. "He saved me from a worse fate. Cherrykit. Cherrykit believes in him. That's why she stayed behind." She turned away from Lionblaze and headed in the direction of the lake. "I cannot leave it like this. I need to know the truth."

"What are you talking about?" Lionblaze ran in front of Cinderheart. "Cinderheart please. Tell me what happened to you. Where did this happen? And you mentioned Cherrykit? She's alive?"

Cinderheart walked around Lionblaze. "Tell Poppyfrost that Cherrykit said she was sorry that she could not become the warrior that she wanted." The lake was now in view and Cinderheart hurried to the shoreline.

"Wait!" yowled Lionblaze. He ran to the shoreline but Cinderheart was already wading in the water. "Don't go! I won't let you go!"

Cinderheart looked back at Lionblaze. Now she couldn't feel anything for the tom. No feelings of happiness and love came up from looking at him. "What can you do?" asked Cinderheart, her eyes filled with determination. "Drag me back to camp? You would never do that to me would you?"

Lionblaze took a step into the lake. "Cinderheart come back. Who is this 'he'? Tell me who he is!"

"And what?" cried Cinderheart. "Will you kill him? Will you kill him like you killed Russetfur!"

Lionblaze stared at Cinderheart in shock.

She looked away. She knew she had gone too far with that one. "Don't follow me," she whispered as she took another step into the lake. "You will never be able to survive over there." She looked up at Lionblaze. "You don't belong in that world like I do. It would be better if I was over there."

Lionblaze took another step and he opened his mouth to speak but Cinderheart didn't hear him for she had already dove under the water. She swam as fast as she could to the bottom of the lake. She had to make it before he did. She had to return to the other side. She needed to know the truth. The truth about why Shadow did what he did. She felt something slam against her and she looked up to see it was Lionblaze.

The tom's eyes blazed with anger as he grabbed Cinderheart's scruff and dragged her to the surface of the lake. As soon as both of their heads broke the water Cinderheart yowled angrily.

"Let me go!" she screamed as she struggled to escape Lionblaze's grip. Her paws splashed against the water as she tried to swim away. She threw some water behind her and Lionblaze released her, probably from getting water into his nose.

Cinderheart swam away from Lionblaze and turned to face him. The tom's eyes were different now. They were the ones that he had when he was in battle. The same eyes that he had killed Russetfur with.

"Will you kill me?" Cinderheart asked quietly.

Lionblaze froze and stared at her.

"Don't bother trying," she continued. "I know what it's like to die. I lived through dying in the most gruesome ways possible. I had cats that I used to trust rip my body to pieces. I've been tortured to death. I know death. I know how to keep going with the pain. You won't stop me." Cinderheart used Lionblaze's shock to dive under the water again. This time she swam with every ounce of her being. She would not stop. She refused to stop. She will return to the other world and she will find out Shadow's reasoning.


	19. Chapter 19

**Here is chapter 19!**

Cinderheart crawled onto the shoreline. After taking a couple of shaky breaths she lifted her head to take in her surroundings. She blinked as she realized something. It was day time here. It was barely moon-high by the time she left so this confirmed that this world moved faster in time than the clans. The question was how much time has passed? She scented the air but she could barely scent Shadow and the others. How was she going to find them like this? She couldn't just go wandering around in this world. Even with the memories of her past lives she still was no match for one of those huge monster things.

"They have been captured."

Cinderheart jumped and whirled to face the voice. Sitting under a tree-the tree that Renella and Agroa sat under-was a dirty she-cat. Her light purple eyes gazed at Cinderheart. "You…" said Cinderheart as she suddenly remembered who the cat was. She was there on the night in the gorge. She was with Cherrykit. The old Cherrykit.

"Don't worry," said the old she-cat. "I do not line myself with the council. I was asked to train Cherrykit by them and you know the council's ways of asking."

Cinderheart nodded. However she didn't truly trust this she-cat. Why was she there? Was she waiting for Cinderheart to come back? Did she know Cinderheart was going to come back?

"Come here and sit with me," rasped the old she-cat. "I have much to tell you."

"What happened to the others?" asked Cinderheart. "I need to know. Where's Shadow?"

"My name is Awena," rasped the old she-cat. She gestured to the spot next to her with her tail. "Come sit here. We need to speak about many things."

Cinderheart glared at the she-cat. She took a step in her direction. This, Awena, was ignoring her questions. "Tell me!" cried Cinderheart. "If you trained Cherrykit then-"

"I'm a death seer like her," replied Awena. "Only unlike Cherrykit, I have had my full training. I have more powers than she does. I know more. And I can help you."

Cinderheart turned away. Obviously Awena wasn't going to tell her what she knew. That meant that she would need to find them on her own.

"Don't go," called Awena. "It would be in your best interest if you didn't go. At least without hearing what I have to say."

"Why?" snapped Cinderheart. She was seriously tired of this. She had swum across the lake and had a fight with Lionblaze that she didn't want to remember.

"They have been captured by the council," said Awena. "And before you go rushing off there's something about the Resurrected that I need to tell you about that not many cats know about." Awena's eyes glinted with something. "The reason why the council wants the Ressurected's power for themselves."

Linelinelineline

Cherrykit was slightly afraid.

She hated that she was even a bit afraid. She had suffered through the Dark Forest and back. She thought she could no longer feel fear after that. However sitting in the gorge surrounded on all sides by council cats, well it was unnerving.

"Well, well," a snaky dark gray tom stepped forward. Volos.

Cherrykit shivered as she saw the tom's eyes scan over the she-cats in the group. Nadia stepped closer to Cherrykit and placed her tail around her.

Rae stepped in front of Volos's view of the she-cats. "If you lay one paw on them I will end your life," he hissed angrily.

"I remember you," Volos chuckled. "You were a member of the old council. One of the goodie-two-paws. The one that helped Renella escape." He gestured with his tail and two cats stepped forward and dragged Rae away from the rest of the group. Shadow tried to come to Rae's aid but Volos stopped Shadow by gesturing to the huge amount of council members surrounding them on all sides. Even if Shadow did help Rae the chance of the others not making it out alive was slim.

Rae didn't back down as Volos slithered his way over to the half blind tom. "I seriously never liked you," he sneered. "Even if you were the leader of the old council, you were always prancing on about how it was important it was to protect Renella. It didn't matter what any of us thought. It was all, protect her this, protect her that."

"She's the Resurrected," said Rae coldly. "It's the duty of the council to protect and serve her. What did you expect?"

Volos didn't say anything in reply but his expression said it all. Rae's fur bristled. Shadow stared daggers at Volos. Cherrykit turned her eyes away. A moon ago she wouldn't have understand what Volos was referring to but now, now she knew. She was no longer an innocent kit.

"Now now Rae don't be like that," said Volos. He shook his head and stepped closer to Rae. "Now why don't you tell me where the Resurrected went?"

"Like we would tell you," sneered Rae.

Volos's eyes flickered with anger and he lashed out. His claws met Rae's face. Rae's yowl in pain tore through Cherrykit. Nadia screamed out her father's name and if Amatus didn't hold her back she would have ran to his side.

"Stupid tom!" hissed Volos angrily as he glared down at the fallen Rae.

"You will never win, the Resurrected is where you won't find her," hissed Rae. The dark brown tom looked up. It was then that Cherrykit realized that Volos's attack had actually blinded him.

"Leave him alone!" yowled Nadia. "Amatus! Let me go!"

Volos's placed a paw on Rae's head. "You and I have a serious bone to pick." His eyes shifted upwards to stare at the small band of cats. An evil expression crossed Volos's face.

Cherrykit began to tremble. "No," she whispered. Her eyes were set on the squiggles above Rae's head. She looked away, a lump rising in her throat.

"Now," said Volos. "This is what will happen if you don't tell me what I want to know." He lifted his claws and shoved them into Rae's throat.

Linelinelineline

"Not many cats know this," said Awena as Cinderheart settled next to her. "But the Resurrected can actually do more than just heal."

"What?" asked Cinderheart.

Awena looked out to the lake. "Did you know that cats in this world live much longer than members of the world you come from? Here cats can live for many many moons without growing old. While in your world, your lives are fleeting, here we live on."

What did this have to do with the Resurrected? "What did you mean they can do more than heal?"

Awena looked up at Cinderheart. "I mean that the Resurrected actually has a power other than healing. A power for killing."

"For killing?" whispered Cinderheart. She tried to search through her mind for a power like that but she couldn't lift up any memories of past lives involving something like that.

"Don't bother searching," said Awena. "If you don't know what you're looking for, the chance of finding it in your memory is near impossible."

"What is this power?" Cinderheart wanted to know but at the same time she didn't.

"Your blood has the ability to heal right now," said Awena. "But it can also be a deadly poison. When the Resurrected is born, one side of the power or the other activates. You can either be a beacon of healing or a beacon of destruction."

Cinderheart stared at Awena dumbly. She had the power to fight within her.

"The council wants the destruction power. With that power they would be able to take over the land here with ease. No one wants to be against the Resurrected."

Cinderheart shivered. She finally knew the truth. She knew why they wanted her and her powers. "What about the others? Where's Cherrykit? Where's Shadow?"

"They left here and while they were in the forest they were ambushed by the council. They were taken back to Welgaria-Where are you going?" Awena looked up at Cinderheart who stood up. "You don't plan on going in there alone are you?"

"I have to save them," replied Cinderheart. "I have to." Her eyes blazed with determination. "They always protected me. I want to protect them."

Awena got to her paws. Cinderheart thought she could hear the old cat's bones creaking. "Then I am going to go with you. I still have much to tell you and I must speak with Cherrykit."

Cinderheart nodded. "Alright." Although Cinderheart did have memories of this world, the world itself has changed since Renella's time. Having a cat who was from here and from this time period would make it much easier.

Linelineline

The sound of sobbing echoed through the tunnels. Dawn placed her tail on Nadia's shoulder in an attempt to comfort the she-cat. Cherrykit silently walked next to them. The two she-cats looked broken after seeing Rae die in front of them. Dawn couldn't blame them at all.

She turned her attention to the tunnel they were walking through. If she remembered correctly this led to the mine area of Welgaria. Dawn wondered where the toms were. After Volos had ripped his claws out of Rae he separated the toms and she-cats and sent them to different areas.

Dawn knew Dusk would protect Cherrykit and Nadia. Cherrykit had already been raped and Nadia was broken after her father's death.

The tunnel opened up into a huge enclosed space. It was one of the many mine areas. The cats that had brought them here pushed the she-cats into the cavern before slipping back into the tunnels. They were probably going to keep watch farther down the tunnel in case one of the she-cats tried to escape.

Dawn turned her attention to who was in the room with them. It surprised her who it was. "Damia?" she asked in surprise.

The silver long-haired she-cat looked up at Dawn. Her eyes were half crazed. "I was waiting for you." She stepped towards the three she-cats. Dawn stepped in front to protect her and she felt Dusk slide to the front for control.

"So Damia," sneered Dusk. "I think it's time for you to die just like Aeron did."

"You..." screeched Damia. "You killed him!" A sharp painful yowl erupted out of her throat as she launched herself at Dusk.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20. I'm actually quite surprised about how popular Rae is. I didn't expect that. Now I feel bad for killing him off. Lol**

**Anyway, this one is going to be Dawn and Dusk centered and reveals their past and relationship to Shadow.**

Dusk instinctively jumped back to avoid getting a claw attack in the face. After Damia' claws flew over her head, Dusk moved forward and lashed out with her claws. Damia's instincts were as sharp as Dusk and she stepped back to avoid the claws.

"This will not end well," sneered Damia as she slowly began to circle Dusk.

"Oh?" replied Dusk lightly as she also began to circle. Her eyes tracked the gray she-cat's path. Dusk could sense there was something off about her. It was the way her eyes were blazing and how her movements seemed jerkier than normal.

Oh. She got it now. "Awww," she sneered. "Don't tell me you actually liked that tom?" She shook her head. "I thought you would have better taste than that."

Damia's eyes widen and she screeched, "How could you say that!" She launched herself into the air and tackled Dusk to the ground, her claws ripping through the black and white she-cat's fur. Dusk was able to avoid getting a serious injury by attacking herself with her front paws.

She reached up and slashed Damia's face. The she-cat backed away from Dusk to recover from the attack and Dusk used it to scramble to her feet. Although she was bleeding from multiple injuries she knew she could not back down now. Shadow was counting on her to protect these two.

With that thought in mind, she jumped into the air and landed on Damia's back and began tearing at the she-cat's fur. She had to win. They both owed so much to Shadow that they couldn't afford to lose. Dusk could remember the day clearly. The day that they first met him.

Linelineline

_ "Come on, you're so slow," spat Volos as he walked up the path to Welgaria._

_ Dawn shivered under the tom's gaze as she followed her master. Dusk would have taken over to protect her sister from the trauma but Volos had stated that he wanted Dawn to be present and not her sister. Dusk had no choice but to stay inside and watch her sister get abused by the tom._

_ Dusk had wondered how their lives had turned out like this. They had lived in peace with their family for the first couple years of their lives. Of course their parents didn't know about the two of them. They just thought Dawn had some violent streaks or something. In fact, they never found out about Dusk. They died against a monster before that and the kit was captured by a slave rig. They were the first to realize that Dawn was not just one cat and gave her the name of Dawn and Dusk for the two sides. _

_ They weren't sold for a long time because the two different souls tended to make cats steer away from them. Although her life in the slave rig was hard it was alright. She barely had food to eat but the toms wouldn't touch her like they did the other she-cats because they were afraid of Dusk. However after many moons past, she was bought by Volos._

_ The snake-like tom was violent to her. He wasn't afraid of Dusk and in fact he loved to beat Dusk down. They had a horrible life with him and there were many instances that Dawn begged Dusk to kill them. Dusk was able to push her away from it for now but there was no way she would be able to keep Dawn sane forever. Soon the she-cat would lose her mind and take it upon herself._

_ "Now," said Volos, breaking the sisters out of their thoughts. "This is the council meeting." He looked back at Dawn with his cruel eyes. "I want you to keep quiet and stand behind me. That is your duty as my slave."_

_ "Yes Volos," said Dawn quietly with her head low. However even in her gloomy mode, her eyes widen as she stared up at the huge mountain. In front of the entrance to the inner part of the mountain were a few she-cats and toms. Members of the council most likely._

_ "Hey Agroa!" cried Volos._

_ A black tom with blue eyes turned to Volos. "Hello," he said._

_ "Aww, don't be like that!" purred Volos as he put his tail on the black tom's shoulder. "We're friends aren't we? Lived in the same region together and everything. And since you're here, I'm guessing that you were able to get into the council. Congrats. Of course I made it in a year before you did."_

_ Agroa didn't say anything in reply. His blue eyes were focused on Dawn. He nodded to her. "Hello. Who are you?"_

_ Dawn looked up at him in surprise. As a slave she was used to be treated like a shadow. She was something that just didn't exist. Dawn opened her mouth to reply but Volos slid in front of her. "Like her? She's my slave."_

_ Agroa didn't say anything but he did nod. _

_ Volos looked like he was going to say something else but he didn't get to because a brown tom with zigzagging black stripes walked out from the mountain entrance with a red she-cat in tow. Based on how the cats seemed to step aside to let her pass, Dawn knew that she was the Resurrected. She was much different than Dawn had imagined. She looked so normal. Based on the rumors about the Resurrected, Dawn thought she would be a six-foot tall cat with glowing eyes or something. No, she wasn't that. _

_ "Hello," said the Resurrected._

_ Dawn looked up in surprise to see the Resurrected was talking to her. She couldn't believe it! The Resurrected was talking to her! "Hello," she responded as she lowered her head to show respect._

_ When she lifted her head again, the Resurrected was speaking to Agroa. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all._

_ However, that was where Dawn was wrong. The council meeting went without a hitch at all. It was afterwards when Volos and Dawn returned to one of the caves where they would rest for the next couple of days did the day turn worse._

_ "How dare you!" snarled Volos once they were inside. His paw struck out and smacked Dawn to the ground. "Don't you dare come out Dusk! This is Dawn's punishment." He ran his claws along Dawn's back. "Maybe I should rip out your fur until you are covered in blood."_

_ "What did I do?" whispered Dawn as she shivered. Dusk wanted to take over and attack the tom but she knew she was no match for him. And then it would end up worse for Dawn. The punishment would be more severe._

_ "You made the Resurrected speak to you, you a pitiful little slave! You don't deserve to be spoken to. Why did she speak to you! You're nothing!"_

_ Dawn yowled in pain as his claws dug through the fur on her back. It hurt so much. She wondered if she was going to die. She wished she would die. It would end all this pain and suffering she was going through._

_ "Volos!"_

_ Suddenly the pain stopped. Dawn lifted her head slowly to see the black tom from before standing at the entrance of the cave. He was staring at Volos with anger flickering in his eyes._

_ "What are you doing?" he asked._

_ Volos stepped away from Dawn. "I'm teaching my slave a lesson. This doesn't concern you Agroa."_

_ Agroa ignored Volos and walked over to Dawn. She flinched away as his paw reached out to her. He rested the paw gently on her head and moved it back and forth in a comforting gesture. "This is not how you are to treat a slave."_

_ "What do you know about it?" snapped Volos. "You've never had a slave-"_

_ He cut off as Agroa glared at him. "How much for me to buy her off you?"_

_ Dawn looked up at Agroa in surprise._

_ Volos laughed. "Buy my slave? This is not a cat you would want. She's not just one cat but two. There are two different souls in that one body. That makes her different than other cats-"_

_ "What do you want to do?" Agroa asked Dawn. "Do you want to come with me?"_

_ Dawn just stared up at him dumbstruck. No one had ever asked her opinion on anything before. Everyone always ignored her or bossed her around._

_ "How do we know what you are like?" hissed Dusk, suddenly taking over._

_ A flicker of surprise crossed Agroa's face but he hid it well. "Well, you must be the other one. And you don't know. But what do you have left here?" He glared over at Volos. "The choice is up to you," he told her. "Both of you."_

_ "I want to be free," whispered Dawn taking over again. Dusk was surprised. Usually Dawn would not take over the body until Dusk handed it to her._

_ "Alright then," said Agroa. He walked over to Volos. "I'm taking her now. We'll discuss payment later."_

_ "But," protested Volos._

_ Agroa glared at him. "I will be taking her."_

Linelinelineline

Dusk dodged another swing by Damia's claws before she dove forward to attack with her own. After Agroa had taken them in, their lives turned out for the better. Agroa treated them with respect and kindness. Dusk didn't know how long it took but eventually Dawn's feelings for the tom ended up being more than admiration. However she knew it was impossible. Dawn knew that Agroa had feelings for Renella and nothing could tear the two apart. At least, until _that _happened.

Damai charged towards Dusk. She jumped out of the way and realized that Damia was not aiming for her at all but Nadia and Cherrykit. "No!" yowled Dusk as she twisted her body around and ran to protect the two of therm. She threw her body in front of Damia just in time for Damia's claws to rip through her stomach. Dusk used the every last shred of strength she had left to clamp her jaw around Damia's throat and rip outwards.

"Dusk!" screamed Cherrykit.

Dusk staggered to the ground, breathing heavily. Her stomach wound hurt like fire and she could barely breathe. She could feel her conscious slipping away until there was nothing left but black.

Linelinelineline

Dawn looked around. She was floating in a sea of bright light. Where was she? What was going on? She looked above her and saw her sister. This was weird. They had never seen each other in person before. It was always through thoughts that they communicated. They couldn't do it any other way.

"What's happening?" asked Dawn. She looked down at her stomach and saw there was no wound.

"We're dying," replied Dusk as she looked down to here where her sister was.

Dawn's eyes widen. "Dying?"

Dusk nodded sadly and turned her attention back upwards. "Yes. That wound Damia gave us is fatal. We'll be dead soon."

"Oh," said Dawn sadly. She didn't want to die yet. There were many things she wanted to do still. She wanted to make sure Nadia and Cherrykit were safe. She wanted to help Shadow. However, it looked like it was the end of the line for them. I wish we could know what happens."

"You will know what happens," said Dusk.

Dawn looked up at her sister in confusion. "What are you talking about? We're dying Dusk. It's the end of the line."

Dusk shook her head. "No. It's not." She looked up into the sky. "It's not over for you. You will live."

Dawn took a step towards her sister but it felt like there was an invisible wall separating them. "Dusk!" she yowled. "What are you doing?"

"I'm grateful to you," replied Dusk. She looked down at her sister gently. ". Even if you don't remember, I do. I was the one going to die but you let my soul inside your body all those moons ago. You saved my life back then now I will return the favor."

Dawn's eye widen. "No!" she yowled as she tried to get to her sister's side. However she was blocked by something invisible. "Dusk! No! Come back! I…I can't live without you!"

"You can and you will," replied Dusk. "I know you can. I believe you can." She took another step upwards and looked back at Dawn. "Now you can take the name mother gave you with pride. You can take the name that is rightfully yours."

"No!" screamed Dawn. She tried to scale the wall but it was a failure. She couldn't do it. She could not get any closer to Dusk. "I don't want the name! I want you. I want my sister. Please. Let us die together."

"No," said Dusk as she lifted higher into the sky. "I can't do that…"

Linelineline

Dawn opened her eyes.

"I can't believe it," whispered Cherrykit from above her. "I saw your time. It was at zero but it came back. Your time came back."

Dawn slowly got to her paws and looked around. Damia's dead lifeless body was close by, her neck a gore mess. Nadia and Cherrykit were both staring at Dawn with concern.

"It's like you were a leader," whispered Cherrykit. "And you lost a life and came back."

"How did you do that?" asked Nadia as she stared at Dawn's stomach.

Looking down at her stomach, Dawn saw her wound was gone. There was also a sense of loneliness inside of her. She couldn't feel Dusk's presence anywhere. She dug her claws into the ground. It was true then. Dusk had died so Dawn could live.

She shut her eyes and took a shaky breath. Dusk had given up her life for Dawn.

"Dawn?" asked Nadia.

Dawn opened her eyes and glanced back and forth between the two she-cats. Her name, given to her by her mother lifted to the top of her memories. "Kachina," she said. "Call me Kachina."


	21. Chapter 21

**I know, I'm sorry. I've been really busy with college and stuff so yeah… At least chapter 21 is out right?**

Shadow did not move as he watched as Volos began circling around him. Unlike the she-cats he was still in the main gorge area. Surrounding them on all sides were the cats of the council. Shadow turned his blue eyes to Volos. The tom was a coward. That's all he was. He was afraid that Shadow might kill him if Volos fought him alone so he had all these cats around for backup. Cowardly. He wasn't surprised though. Volos was always into dirty tactics.

He shifted his eyes to the tunnel the she-cats were taken to before returning back to Volos. They would be alright. They had Dusk with them. Dusk wouldn't let anything happen to Nadia and Cherrykit. His eyes shifted to Rae's still body.

_"I'm sorry I wasn't able to help you in the end,"_ he told sadly to the tom. Even if Shadow couldn't do anything, the dead cat used to be his leader. He would follow the tom in defending Renella's life from all manners of enemies. And yet, he let her die. He would have showed his frustration on his face but Volos was watching him closely. He didn't want to give that slinky cat any openings. The only hope he had was that Cinderheart was safe. She was back in her own world and the portal was closed. She could not come back here and they could not go over there. The Resurrected soul was safe for now. Maybe one day the portal would open again but he hoped the council would be disbanded by then. All the key players to protect her were dead or going to die.

"So," hissed Volos as he slowly circled Shadow. "How should I kill you?" His eyes scanned Shadow over. "Too bad Damia wanted to take care of the she-cats; otherwise I would kill them all right in front of you with you unable to stop me." He laughed as he saw Shadow's fur bristle slightly. "You were always too weak for your own good." He unsheathed his claws and slowly made his way over to Shadow. "Now, you ready to die?

Linelinelineline

"Why are you helping me?" asked Cinderheart as the two cats made their way through the forest in the direction of Welgaria. They didn't really have a plan on getting into the huge mountain. It was a kind of figure it out as you go along sort of thing. Probably not the best thing to do but how could they plan for something like this?

"That Cherrykit," replied Awena. "She's the real deal. A real death seer." She let out a raspy chuckle. "A death seer born in the other world that could not show off her powers until she came here. It's quite odd to think about in a way. I cannot let her go without finishing her training."

Cinderheart didn't want to say it but the old she-cat next to her didn't look like she was going to live much longer. Would Cherrykit's training be finished in time before Awena died? Plus there was the little fact of will they live through this? No. She couldn't think like that. Cherrykit was alive. Nadia was alive. Dawn was alive. Dusk was alive. Rae was alive. Amatus was alive. Shadow…he was alive.

Everyone was alive. Everyone. All these cats that helped her. They wouldn't- couldn't die!

Reaching the edge of Welgaria the two she-cats stopped and crouched behind bushes as they got closer and closer. They could see two council members escorting a cat outside. Amatus.

"Let me go," hissed Amatus. He tried to return to Welgaria but one of his escorts slammed a paw into his chest and Amatus went down coughing.

"You should be grateful," hissed the other. "You get to leave alive so you can warn the other rebels that they shouldn't try to mess with the council. You should be grateful we're letting you live."

"Of course," said the tom that had hit Amatus. "He didn't say we couldn't maim you bit. Maybe remove an eye? We'll be careful not to kill you in the process."

Amatus growled angrily from the ground but there was slight fear in his eyes. It was obvious that even though he was putting on a tough face he was scared out of his mind.

Cinderheart couldn't take it any longer. She burst out of the bushes and tackled the tom that was about to claw out Amatus's eye to the ground. She didn't even think as her claws raked across the tom's throat. Next to her Amatus had jumped to his feet and done the same with the other tom.

"Honestly," commented Awena as she stepped out from behind the bushes. "You are so reckless Cinderheart." She shook her head. "If you didn't kill him right away then our presence would be known."

"What are you doing here?" whispered Amatus. He stared at Cinderheart like she was a ghost or something. "We saw you return." He glanced back at the entrance of Welgaria to make sure no cats were coming before he spoke again. "You should have stayed there. It's dangerous here!"

Cinderheart shook her head. "No. I came back because I belong here." She looked down at the body of the cat she had killed. She would have never done this in the clans. Killing was a last resort and here she did it without a second thought. "I don't belong in the clans. Like Cherrykit, this place has changed me." She lifted a paw pressed it against her chest. "I am a cat of this world. My soul-the soul of the Resurrected. My place is here, not over there." She turned her head to the entrance of Welgaria. "And I'm going to save the others."

Amatus's eyes widen and he ran in front of Cinderheart. "You can't. It's giving them what they want. They want you. They will win if you go in there."

Cinderheart didn't back down. She stared down at Amatus. "You are going to go back there to save Nadia. I'm going back there to save everycat. You are a member of the rebels! One of the cats who are sworn to serve me. Now you let me through or I'll go through you if I must."

Amatus stared Cinderheart done for a few seconds but in the end he lowered his head and stepped to the side. "I'll help," he said.

"That's all I ask," purred Cinderheart.

"Alright," rasped Awena as she stepped in front of the two cats. "I'll take the lead. I'll get us to the center without too much trouble." Her light purple eyes twinkled with amusement. "It may not look like it but I have a few hidden powers that you don't even know about."

Linelinelineline

Shadow bit back a cry of pain as Volos's claws slowly made their way down his side. The claws were only piercing skin and that was it. The snake-like tom wanted to make this last as long as possible.

"How does this feel?" hissed Volos as he removed his claws out of Shadow. He stepped back to observe his handiwork. Shadow's sides were a mess of blood and cuts. However Shadow refused to fall to the ground. His blue eyes just gazed on definitely at Volos. "Still standing huh," growled Volos. His long tail flicked behind him as he thought of what to do next.

Shadow on the other paw was trying to figure out how to escape. He mentally shook his head. No. He shouldn't think about escaping himself. He had to think of a way to save the she-cats. They deserved to live longer. Dawn and Dusk, both of them had suffered enough. However what could he do? He was heavily guarded. There was no way Volos was going to let him get away.

"I know!" exclaimed Volos. A malicious glint crossed his eyes. "I'll make a hole in your stomach. Not a very big hole so you die but a small one. Then I'll slowly pull your organs out." His eyes were wide as he thought about it. He laughed. "Wouldn't that be great?"

Shadow didn't say anything. His eyes betrayed nothing. Even he could not recover from an injury like that. _"I'm sorry that I couldn't help you,"_ he thought to Dawn and Dusk. His eyes focused on Volos who was getting closer and closer to him. This was the end. He would pay for all the sins he committed. He thought of Renella. He would finally pay for letting her die. He sighed and relaxed his muscles. He wondered how long it was take Volos to kill him.

"Leave him alone!"

Shadow's eyes shot to one of the side tunnels. Cinderheart barreled out of it and into the open area. She launched herself at Volos, her claws raking at his fur. If Volos didn't shift a bit to the right his throat would have been ripped open. Cinderheart jumped away from Volos and stood close to Shadow.

"What are you doing here!" yowled Shadow.

"Saving you," said Cinderheart. She looked up at the leering cats that surrounded them on all sides. She didn't fear them. They were normal cats.

"How dare you?" hissed Volos. Blood was pouring out of his shoulder from his injury. "I'll tear you apart!"

Shadow stepped in front of Cinderheart to protect her. However that was not needed as a voice echoed through the open area. "Stand down Volos."

Shadow stiffened as Volos turned to the voice. He growled but he dipped his head. "Yes Lord Tomos."

"Tomos?" Cinderheart turned to watch a cat enter the area. She froze and stared at him with wide eyes. "It can't be," she whispered.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22! I'm finally on spring break so I was able to get this written up. Anyway, the big reveal chapter and stuff. :D Questions are answered, maybe one you haven't thought of…**

Cinderheart blinked and blinked again. She glanced over at Shadow and back at Tomos. They looked the exact same. She looked back and forth again. She even rubbed her eyes and looked again. They were the exact same. It was like she was looking into the lake and seeing the reflection. Even Brackenfur and Thornclaw didn't look this much alike.

"I take you are surprised by my appearance," Tomos said with a slight chuckle. His blue eyes shifted to Shadow. "I'm surprised my darling brother didn't tell you about me," he said with a slight sneer as he walked closer to Cinderheart. "Oh, please don't move Shadow. I wouldn't want you losing your head now."

Cinderheart's eyes flickered over Shadow. His brother? Wait. She remembered him telling Renella about this brother. Yes. She remembered him telling her about how alike they were. Was what he meant by that? They were alike because they looked and had the same scent?

"Leave her alone Tomos," growled Shadow angrily.

"But why brother?" asked Tomos in a slow voice. He stepped forward and his black tail went under Cinderheart's chin and lifted her head up so he could look her in the eyes. She glared angrily back at him. Tomos chuckled. "This one has good spunk. It reminds me of Renella in a way." His expression darkened as he said, "I can still remember running my claws along your back."

As if to show off, he lifted a paw, unsheathed his claws and slowly ran it along her back. "Wonder if the same thing will happen this time? I wonder if you will look back at me with those blue eyes and cry out about how you were betrayed. Wouldn't that be interesting?" His eyes shifted over to her brother and back at Cinderheart. "Wouldn't it be?"

Cinderheart struggled not to shiver as his claws ran along her back. She would not show fear here. She would not make this tom happy. She would not let Tomos see she was afraid of him. It was because of this tom that all of this happened. It was because of Tomos that all of her dear friends here suffered, it was because of him that Cherrykit ended up losing her innocence too early in life. If this tom was gone, everything would be better.

Tomos removed his claws from her back and began pacing around Cinderheart. She heard Shadow try to move towards her but something stopped him, Volos maybe? She couldn't focus on him anymore. Her attention drifted back to Tomos. "I don't understand," she said coldly. "What's the point of getting the Resurrected in your paws? Sure cats will obey the Resurrected but it's not like their free will is being taken away or anything like that. What's the point?"

Tomos chuckled. "You don't understand? The point is to finally rid this world of cats that do not understand."

"Cats that do not understand?" asked Cinderheart, the confusion clear on her face. That sounded like a dumb reason to her.

Tomos laughed and walked over to his brother. When them standing so close to each other the only way Cinderheart knew which one was Shadow was the long bleeding claw marks all over his body. "You didn't tell her anything about us? And you call yourself a Gandal?"

"Gandal?" asked Cinderheart. The name seemed to tickle something in the back of her mind. It was something she should know. She couldn't put her paw on why she should though. It was probably something only said once in a past life and she just couldn't pull it out of her memories.

Tomos laughed when he turned his attention back to Cinderheart. "This is so precious that I could laugh. You tell her brother. You tell her what a Gandal is." His blue eyes glinted with happy malice as he walked away from his brother and sat down right next to Cinderheart. He ran his claws against her back again. "I want to see her expression when you tell her," he chuckled as he eyed his brother. "And you will tell her."

Cinderheart turned her attention to Shadow. She knew what Tomo was implying with that little statement. She could see that Shadow did not want to tell her. Whatever this Gandal thing was it was hurting him. "What is it?" she asked him softly. Her full attention was on Shadow now. Tomos didn't exist for the moment.

Shadow looked away and for a moment Cinderheart thought he was going to refuse to tell her when he spoke, "Gandal is the name of a tribe of cats," he said quietly. "Tomos and I are from that tribe."

Yes. Now Cinderheart remembered. There weren't just cats living by themselves or on the council and such, there were cats that lived in small clusters together referred to as tribes. They functioned like clans in a way. They were scattered all across the land and if she remembered correctly the Gandal tribe was from the far north. She didn't know much about them because they were one of the few tribes that did not care for the Resurrected visiting them so in none of her past lives did she ever go there.

"Keep going," hissed Volos. "It gets better."

Shadow winced but he continued. "I don't think you understand it much Cinderheart but my abilities are…different compared to most other cats here." Noticing Cinderheart's confused look he continued. "I have wings, superfast healing and such. Those abilities are not normal here."

"Normal for regular cats," hissed Tomos. He ran his claws along her back again. She had to dig her claws into the ground to avoid clawing him in the face. Not yet. It wasn't time to strike yet. Only a little bit longer. "Keep going. Talk about...the reason why we're so special."

Shadow looked away from Cinderheart as he continued to speak. "We're…we're very different from normal cats. The way we are born and such…"

Tomos seemed to be tired of Shadow going round in circles about it. He growled angrily and pushed his claws into Cinderheart's back until blood was drawn. She cried out in pain, mostly out of surprise. "Get on with it," he growled.

Shadow shot a hateful glance at Tomos and Cinderheart could see his claws digging into the ground. Was it bad? Was it so bad that he just didn't want to tell her? What could it be? "Cinderheart. We…the cats of the Gandal tribe, we were born in a different way-we have a different set of parents than normal cats."

"What, what do you mean by that?" asked Cinderheart. She didn't understand this at all. She felt Tomos claws press against her back again.

Shadow seemed to realize it and he spoke again, "Those creatures, you know the ones that travel through the forest and such, those huge beasts?" Cinderheart nodded. Shadow looked down as he spoke again, "What we are…" He took a deep breath and looked Cinderheart in the eye. "We are the result of a cat mating with one of those monsters."

Linelinelineline

Cherrykit stifled a yelp as her paw smacked against a loose rock. She paused in her steps and shook out her paw to remove the sting from it. Nadia and Kachina waited for Cherrykit to recover before they continued to walk on.

After Kachina had given them a quick rundown of what happened to her the three she-cats knew it was time to get out of there. Although the front way was blocked off by those two toms Kachina knew a back way to get out of there. It was lucky for them that she used to live here. She knew about tunnels that none of these cats knew about.

Cherrykit's purple eyes flickered to the cat in the lead. Kachina's story was a bit odd but Cherrykit could believe it. Dusk had moved on by herself so Dawn could live. Was that the way leaders worked too? Did they gain lives from the cats of StarClan and then use those to live for nine times over? She didn't know but she felt like she should.

"Wait," hissed Kachina in the quietest voice possible. In the faint light of the glowing moss, Cherrykit saw Nadia and Kachina tense.

The young she-cat focused on the area ahead of them with her ears. She could hear something coming from the other direction. A cat maybe? It sounded like a cat walking quickly but trying to be as silent as possible.

"We attack as soon as possible," murmured Nadia. "As soon as we see the cat. We cannot risk being spotted here."

Cherrykit nodded in agreement and unsheathed her claws. Although she could not do much she would fight to her death here. That made her think of her brother, Toadkit. She wondered what he was doing. Busy being a kit probably. That was good for him. He should live a happy life in the clan, the life he could not have. "You be happy brother," she whispered quietly before focusing her attention ahead.

The three she-cats were tense as they waited for whoever it was to make it to where they were. When they saw who it was they relaxed immediately. "Amatus," whispered Nadia. She hurried over to the tom and nuzzled him. "You're safe. I was worried about you? What happened?"

Amatus purred and nuzzled Nadia back. "Don't worry. I'm just glad you're fine." He turned his attention to Kachina and Cherrykit. "There's not much time to explain but you three have to come with me. Cinderheart is here."

"What?" gasped Nadia.

Cherrykit was suddenly alert.

"I'll explain on the way," said Amatus. He turned out to lead the way. "It's going to get ugly fast here."

Linelinelineline

Cinderheart stared at Shadow in shock. "W…What?" she stammered. The result of a cat mating with one of those monsters? "How…"

"It's different for Gandals," Tomos chuckled and moved away from Cinderheart and stood in front of her. "We have a pact with those monsters in the north. It keeps the peace between the two races." He lifted a paw. "Poor little cat that was in the other world. You don't understand what it means to be of a mixed race." He gestured to his brother who looked distraught. All Cinderheart wanted to do was run over and comfort him. Instead she focused back on Tomos as he began to pace. Behind him she could see Volos leering at her. "Tell her Shadow. Tell her what is wrong with that."

"There's a bad stigma involved with cats like us," said Shadow. "We're looked down upon outside the tribe, we're feared for what we are. We are thought of to be monsters as well." His eyes shifted over to his brother. "I think you fit that precisely."

Tomos hissed angrily at his brother. He walked over to him and slammed his paw against Shadow's head and knocked him to the ground. "I am not a monster. You know what happened to us. You know the pain we suffered when we were kicked out of that village because our pathetic mother went mad after giving birth to us." He laughed cruelly. "She should have been happy that she ended up with two strong toms that would be an asset to the tribe. Instead she hated us, resented us. Why? Because she was in love with a cat from the tribe! She couldn't stand that she couldn't be with him."

"It's wasn't her fault," growled Shadow angrily, looking up at his brother.

"Yes it was!" snapped Tomos, shoving his paw down on the wounds on Shadow's side. "Sure, she managed to raise us for six moons but then she was done. She had to go and kill herself and the stigma of her committing that sin passed down to us and we were ostracized. You know the pain and suffering we went through when cats found out what we were! You know that!"

Cinderheart felt like nothing existed for Tomos right now. All that tom could feel was the pain and suffering he felt back then. She could understand now what he was trying to do. However she still could not forgive him for what happened. Shadow ended up fine right? He suffered the same fate as Tomos but he was alright. She wanted to help Shadow but she knew if she moved Volos would attack her. She couldn't risk that. Not yet.

Tomos stopped hurting Shadow and walked back over to Cinderheart. "It will end now though. The Resurrected is in my paws along with her power." He turned to Shadow. "How about I kill her in front of you? Last time you didn't see it did you? I'll make sure you see it this time."

Shadow's eyes widen and he jumped to his paws but Volos stood in front of Shadow to block him and the leering cats around them stepped closer to Shadow to prevent him from attacking.

Cinderheart gave Shadow a reassuring look before turning to Tomos. "You won't win," she said coldly. "Not this time or ever."

Suddenly a battle cry erupted into the air. Tomos and the rest of the council cats turned to see the rebel cats streaming into the gorge from all the tunnels. Cinderheart took the moment of surprise to leap into the air at Tomos. It was time to finally end this.


	23. Chapter 23

**The final chapter of Dancing Shadows and Hidden Hearts. Wow. I can't believe this story has come so far. I can remember back when it was this little idea in my head and somehow it turned into this long and awesome story. But like all awesome stories it must come to an end and this is where it will be.**

**I'm going to miss all these awesome characters and this insane world. Shadow, Kachina. Dawn, Dusk, Awena, Rae, heck even Cherrykit and Cinderheart count. It's funny how an author gets really attached to the characters and doesn't want to let them go but yeah. It's time for me to end this tale and let them go. –sniff- I'll miss you all.**

**And before I stop talking and let you all read, I would like to thank everyone for reading my first mature rated warriors story and actually liking this crazy story that just popped out of my head. It really makes my day when I read your reviews and you're all enjoying the crazy plot twists and such. Anyway, I'll stop talking now so enjoy the final chapter of Dancing Shadows and Hidden Hearts. :)**

Cherrykit could hear the cries of battle as Amatus led them out into the open gorge. Cats were fighting all around this area and it reminded her of life back in the clans. She sadly looked away. Clan life and life here were the same if anyone got down to it. It was the same blood shedding way of life.

"There's Cinderheart," yowled Kachina, gesturing with her tail. Her eyes widen. "And that's Tomos! Shadow's brother." She shifted her eyes to Nadia and Amatus. "We have to help her."

The two rebel cats nodded. "Of course," said Amatus. "If you're up to it then fight."

"Of course I'll fight," hissed Nadia. "I will avenge my father." Without waiting she jumped into the fray of fighting cats. Amatus didn't wait but followed suit.

"Stay low," Kachina said to Cherrykit. "You aren't experienced in the art of battle. It will be dangerous for you to fight here. Just stay out of sight. This is not a place to be reckless. Staying alive is most important for you."

Cherrykit glanced at the squiggles above Kachina's head and nodded. The black and white she-cat gave Cherrykit a grateful look before she too jumped into the fray. Cherrykit just noticed it now. Ever since Dusk died it seemed like Kachina was the combination of Dawn and Dusk. Or maybe this was the personality Kachina was always supposed to have. "Maybe I'm just thinking about this too much," she murmured. She turned to crawl back into the tunnel when out of the corner of her eyes she saw Awena pressed against the wall of the gorge. Her fur was caked with blood and she was breathing hard.

She glanced back at the tunnel before jumping down and running over to the old death seer. "Awena!" she cried. "Come with me." She pressed her small body against the old cat to give her support. "There's a cave up there. We'll be safe if we hide there."

Awena purred. "I'm happy I found you before it was too late," rasped the old she-cat. She didn't move in the direction of the small tunnel opening. Instead she pulled away from Cherrykit and sat on the ground and lifted her head so her neck was exposed to the she-cat. "Cherrykit. Do you know why death seers are called death seers?"

Cherrykit couldn't believe it! They were in the middle of a battle and she wanted to talk about their lessons? "What are you talking about?" she cried. "There is no time for this. We have to get out of here so we won't be in the way."

Awena shook her head as she looked at Cherrykit intently. "This is important. I do not have much time and you need to everything about being a death seer." She lifted a paw and gently lifted put it under Cherrykit's chin so the ginger she-cat was looking up at her. "Do you know why I told you not to kill? Do you know why death seers try their best to not kill any cat?" She lowered her head and whispered in Cherrykit's ear. "It's because we are death seers." She pulled back and saw confusion written clear on Cherrykit's face. She chuckled before speaking again. "Death seers, we not only see when a cat will die; we gain knowledge if we are to kill a cat. We gain knowledge through death." She took a step back from Cherrykit and exposed her neck. "I do not have time to teach you the ways of being a death seer. In the end I must do it the only way I know you will gain the knowledge."

Cherrykit's legs began to shake. No way. She had to kill Awena? She shook her head. "I can't. I can't do that. You were always kind to me! I can't kill you!"

Awena gestured with her tail to the battle around them. "Look at this Cherrykit. This is a war. I am an old frail cat. My chance of making it through this are slim. Although death seers cannot see how they themselves will die, you get a feeling when your time is at an end. I know my time is over now. I do not want to go without telling you everything. It would be against my code as a death seer to do that. Now, my young apprentice. Cut my throat and end it."

Cherrykit took a shaky breath. She didn't want to! She didn't want to kill Awena. However, she knew she would obey. Awena was her mentor. The young she-cat unsheathed her claws and with one paw strike she slit the old she-cat's throat.

She gasped as her mind was filled with images and memories. Awena as a young kit being raised by her death seer mother, Awena much older, the council attacking, her mother dying, Awena having to kill her, Awena making a deal with the council that they would leave her alone if she helped them in the future and information, so much information about death seers. Their abilities, how to read the stars, how to almost kill a cat but not be the one to take the final blow. Everything poured into her mind and she thought she might drown. However as fast as the memories came, they were gone from the forefront of her mind. They were still there, in the back but they would not bother her unless Cherrykit wanted them to.

"Thank you," she whispered as she looked down at her mentor. She turned her head away just in time to see a council cat dive towards her. Out of pure instinct she sidestepped him before slamming her paw into the back of his head as he passed by. The cat hit the rock wall and crumpled to the ground. Cherrykit turned back to the fighting cats around her. She would not sit around waiting for it to be over now. It was now her fight as well. For Awena, for Cinderheart, for everycat that she knew here, she would fight. Letting off a blood curling yowl she joined the battle against the council.

Linelinelineline

Shadow could not see Cinderheart or his brother anymore. When the rebels had attacked his brother and Cinderheart had disappeared in the sea of cats. Shadow would have brought out his wings to fly out of there but he was right in the thick of battle. The cats that had been leering down at him had attacked and he had to use every bit of strength he had to fight them off. It didn't help that he was already exhausted and bleeding from all the injuries Volos gave him. However he knew he would fight on. He would not lose her twice against her brother.

He yowled as a cat bit down on his tail and he shoved all of his weight on his front paws as he lifted his back legs in the air and gave the cat a hard kick, knocking it off. He then got to work on slicing through the cats pouring at him from all sides. Around him he could hear the yowls of both sides. The cries of triumph and the cries of pain. Personally he never thought it would end like this. Who knew it would come down to a huge battle like this to decide everything?

Hearing a yowl, he turned his head and saw Volos dive towards him, the slinky tom's claws unsheathed. Shadow barely had time to move away. Even then he could not stop Volo's claws from clipping his face.

"You will die!" hissed the tom angrily as he slashed out at Shadow.

Shadow could not dodge the attack, not with the bodies of cats pressed in all around him. He could have used his wings but that would just make him a bigger target for the council cats around him. So instead of dodging he ran towards Volos. The skinny tom's claws dug into Shadow's shoulders while Shadow clamped his jaw down on Volos's leg. Volos screeched in anger but he dug his claws deeper into Shadow's shoulders which caused Shadow's teeth to clamp harder. They were in a stalemate at the moment. If either moved then the other would attack. Shadow could feel a cat's claws slash at his legs, probably another council member. He ignored it though. Volos could not go free.

Volos let off a pained yowl and he was shoved away from Shadow. The black tom released Volos's leg and lifted his head to see Dusk standing over him. Wait. That wasn't Dusk. It wasn't Dawn either. Who was this cat?

"I am your master!" cried Volos as the she-cat slashed through his stomach. "Obey me!"

"Never," she hissed angrily. "I should make you suffer to what you did to us. However there is no time for that though." Without warning her claws lashed out and slit Volos's throat. She turned away and focused on Shadow. "Are you alright? Is Cinderheart alright? I saw her fighting your brother. We should go to her to help."

"Who are you?" asked Shadow. "You're not Dawn or Dusk."

"Dusk died," she replied quietly. "Call me Kachina."

Understanding swept over Shadow and he nodded. "Let's go." He looked around but he could not see Cinderheart or Shadow in the mess of cats everywhere. There were just too many bodies.

"We'll find her," said Kachina. "Don't worry."

Linelinelineline

The only thing Cinderheart could think of when she attacked Tomos was to kill him. If he was gone then this whole thing would be over. Tomos had swatted her away like a fly though before roughly clamping his jaw around her scruff and began dragging her into a tunnel. She had yowled angrily and struggled to get free but his strength and grip was too tight.

When they reached a huge cavern, Tomos roughly threw Cinderheart to the ground. She scrambled to her feet and turned to face him with her claws unsheathed. He just chuckled at her defiance. "You're so different that Renella was," he said as he slowly began to circle around her.

She followed him with her eyes and body. Tomos was a Gandal just like Shadow. It meant that he had the same powers and strengths as him. Cinderheart had to be careful. "Oh?" she asked.

"She was running away in fear," Tomos chuckled. "She had this beautiful expression of fear in her eyes as she looked up at me. And then the expression of betrayal, perfect touch if you ask me. You on the other paw. You look like you want to kill me. Such a difference-and here I thought the Resurrected was the same cat all the time."

Cinderheart didn't say anything but continued to follow Tomos with her eyes. He was trying to throw her off balance so he could attack. There was no way he was going to let that happen. "So you brought me here to kill me alone is that right?"

Tomos chuckled. "Glad that you understand. Sure I would love to kill you in front of my brother but that cannot happen." He yowled before launching himself at Cinderheart.

She dodged to avoid the attack but she wasn't able to dodge completely and his claws snagged on her fur and tore through her skin. She hissed angrily before swiping a paw at him. He ducked under the blow before he lifted a paw and smacked Cinderheart under the chin. Her head snapped back as she stumbled away from him.

Through the stars dotting her vision she saw Tomos coming at her again. She wildly swung her claws at him and was surprised when she actually landed a hit. However it was a short lived victory as Tomos's raked across Cinderheart's face and she fell to the ground stunted.

"Maybe I should kill you the same way?" he chuckled as he dug his claws into Cinderheart's back. She yowled in pain and tried to get away but he was putting all of his weight on her so she couldn't move. He lowered his head so his jaw was close to Cinderheart's ear. "Would you like that? Would you like to die in the same way she did?"

"I won't die like she did," Cinderheart hissed angrily as she tried to crane her neck back to look at him. She felt his claws run along her sides before they dug into her. She bit back a yowl of pain. She would not cry out. It meant that he would win and she would lose. She felt the weight lift from her body as Tomos got off of her and stood in front of her. Mustering her strength she lifted a paw and slashed out at Tomos and caught him in the chest. She had a moment of triumph as he backed away from her, looking down at the wound in shock.

"How dare you!" he hissed angrily. He walked back up to Cinderheart and gave her a smack with his paw. He looked down at the blood flowing out of her. "Well at least I can take a parting gift before I kill you."

Her eyes widen as he bent down and lapped up her blood. He chuckled as he walked back in front of her. "I thank you for healing…" His voice trailed off and his eyes widened in shock. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish as he struggled to take in a breath.

Cinderheart got to her paws and looked down at Tomos who was now thrashing around on the ground. His body went through a couple of spasms as he struggled to breathe. "You know about the Resurrected's other ability right? The one to make the blood into a poison?" She looked away from the dying tom. "I have to thank Awena for showing me how to do that." Cinderheart took a couple of shaky breaths as she made her way out of the tunnel. She was pulling up memories from Renella's life to remember where to go. She knew Tomos wouldn't live for much longer. The poison was painful and deadly to all cats.

Soon she saw light ahead and she walked out into the open area. The bodies of dead cats surrounded her but she could barely focus on them as she collapsed to the ground. Her blood flowed around her like water as she tried to focus on the shapes of cats approaching her. Was Cherrykit one of them? Did any of them make it through alive? Where was Shadow? Was he here too?

"Dusk," she said softly when the black and white she-cat stood over her. She paused and blinked slowly. No. That wasn't Dusk, was it?

She shook her head. "No. It's Kachina now. Don't worry about that. Just rest alright? We won the battle. The council members are all dead. It is time to rejoice and celebrate. You should rest you know?" She looked to the side before backing away and Amatus and Nadia took her place.

Nadia dipped her head to Cinderheart. "Thank you…" she whispered softly. Cinderheart's eyes drifted down to their tails which were entwined before she lifted them back up to the two cats.

"I thank you for saving me back there," said Amatus .

The rebels moved to the side and a ginger she-cat took their place. "Cherrykit," whispered Cinderheart.

Her purple eyes looked down at Cinderheart with sorrow. "You are a great aunt," she whispered softly. "I'm really happy that you're my aunt." She looked away before speaking again. "I'll be good. I'll be a great death seer. I know everything now. I can…" Her voice trailed off.

"I know you will," rasped Cinderheart. "You'll be a great death seer." She hesitated before speaking again, "Your mother will be proud of you if she knew what duty you have."

Cherrykit nodded and backed away and Shadow took her place. He bent his head to touch Cinderheart but she spoke quickly, "Don't touch my blood," she said. "My blood is poisonous right now."

Shadow hesitated and then turned to look at her face. "You'll be fine," he said to her firmly but she could hear the worry in his voice. "You will be fine. The rebels is bringing their healer over and…" His voice trailed off as Cinderheart opened her mouth to speak.

"I know it must look bad," she whispered to him. It reminded her of the ways she had died in the past. Bloody, brutal ways, in ways a cat should never die from. "I know…" her voice quivered as she struggled to continue. "I know I am running out of time. But I killed him. I killed Tomos. I killed him with my blood. I'm sorry. I know he was your brother but…"

Shadow shook his head. "I know," he said softly. "You don't have to say anything. I'm just glad…I'm glad he didn't kill you again."

Cinderheart took a shaky breath. It was getting so hard to breathe now. Her vision was starting to get really fuzzy and there was a heavy weight in her limbs. It then really hit her. She was dying. She was going to die here in this gorge. There was no one to save her life. There was no magical cat with blood that could heal that could save her. She looked up at Shadow and whispered softly. "Find me again. Find me again and…"

"Of course," whispered Shadow softly. "I will always find you."

"Thank you," replied Cinderheart before she closed her eyes and let the darkness take her.

Epilogue

"Be careful Renata! Monsters have been seen in the area!"

"I'll be fine mother, don't worry!" replied a dark brown she-cat with blue eyes. She gave her mother a reassured look before she hurried out onto the small traveling path by their little home. She loved coming out here to see the traveling cats. The nomads were always fun to talk to. They talked about lands beyond the valley that Renata and her mother lived in. She knew she would travel outside one day. She would have grand adventures!

She broke out of her fantasies as she spotted three cats coming up the path. A black and white she-cat was walking next to a smaller ginger one with light purple eyes. The only tom in the bunch caught Renata's attention though. Maybe it was his thick black fur or those blue eyes; maybe it was something else entirely. There was something about it that struck her interest.

The ginger she-cat's purple eyes lit up when she saw Renata. "We found you!" she exclaimed happily.

Renata backed up a step, clearly confused. Who was this she-cat? Why did it feel like she knew who the ginger cat was?

"Took us long enough. We've been looking around for moons now," said the black and white she-cat in a bored tone but her eyes were lit up as well.

"Who are you?" asked Renata, glancing back and forth between the three cats. She felt like she should know them but she didn't.

The tom stepped forward and gazed at her with gentle loving eyes. "My name is Shadow," he said. "I kept my promise to you. I found you again."


End file.
